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New York, July 12 – Dozens of developing countries with a total 3.3 billion people – almost half of world population – are spending more on debt interest payments than on education or health, the United Nations said a new report titled A World of Debt.

“Some of the poorest countries in the world are being forced into a choice between servicing their debt, or serving their people,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the launch of the report. “They have virtually no fiscal space for essential investments in the Sustainable Development Goals or the transition to renewable energy.”

He said because these unsustainable debts are concentrated in poor countries, “they are not judged to pose a systemic risk to the global financial system. This is a mirage. 3.3 billion people is more than a systemic risk. It is a systemic failure. Markets may not be suffering – yet. But people are.”

The global public debt reached a record US$92 trillion in 2022 and is still surging with developing countries shouldering a disproportionate amount. The report said, on average, African countries pay four times more for borrowing than the United States and eight times more than the wealthiest European economies.

The International Monetary Fund says 36 countries are on so-called “debt row” – either in, or at high risk of, debt distress. Another sixteen are paying unsustainable interest rates to private creditors. And a total of 52 countries – almost 40 percent of the developing world – are in serious debt trouble.

Read the report: A World of Debt: A growing obstacle to global prosperity

Visit the U.N. website for an interactive map with country-specific data and more

U.N. urges deep reforms of outdated international financial system

Guterres said the current global debt situation resulted partly from the “inequality built into our outdated global financial system, which reflects the colonial power dynamics of the era when it was created. That system has not fulfilled its mandate as a safety net to help all countries manage today’s cascade of unforeseen shocks – the pandemic; the devastating impact of the climate crisis; and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

In an address he made to the Paris Finance Summit on June 22, Guterres called the financial system created after World War II, “outdated, dysfunctional and unjust” and it can no longer meet the needs of the 21^st century.

When launching A World of Debt, he called for “deep reforms” of the global financial system and proposals he made include “an effective debt workout mechanism that supports payment suspensions, longer lending terms, and lower rates, including for

vulnerable middle-income countries. Governments can agree right now to scale up development and climate finance by increasing the capital base and changing the business model of Multilateral Development Banks.”

He said other important proposals were made in the Bridgetown Agenda led by Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados and the recent Paris Finance Summit. The upcoming G20 Summit in India is also an opportunity to take these ideas forward.

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Paris/New York, July 11 – The United States has retaken its seat in the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after a five-year absence to tackle global challenges such as the ethical framework for artificial intelligence and ocean protection programs, the Paris-based organization said.

“This is a historic moment,” said Audrey Azoulay, the director general of UNESCO. “Our organization is once again moving towards universality. I also want to share this victory for UNESCO with the entire United Nations family, because it is excellent news for multilateralism as a whole. If we want to meet the challenges of our century, there can only be a collective response.”

 “This is not only an excellent track record, but also a roadmap for the future,” Azoulay said. “The return of the United States, and the additional resources that go with that, will help us to provide even better support for everyone around the world: pupils and students, researchers, academics, artists, educators, journalists – all those on whom our daily work is focused. UNESCO will also have more resources for its two strategic priorities, Africa and gender equality.”

Washington decided in June to return as a full member and the organization’s General Conference on June 30 voted 132-10 to approve the request. Russia, North Korea, Belarus, China, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Nicaragua, Syria and the Palestinian delegation voted against.

UNESCO said U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed Director-General Azoulay on July 9 that he had just signed the United States’ Document of Acceptance to the UNESCO Constitution to become the 194^th member.

The organization said in a press release that the U.S. had cited reasons for its return to Azoulay and they included appreciation in the way in which UNESCO had succeeded in modernizing itself in recent years, “highlighting the launch of new initiatives to tackle contemporary challenges (including a global ethical framework for artificial intelligence and ocean protection programs), the implementation of management reforms that have made the organization more efficient, and the mediation efforts that have eased internal political tensions, particularly over the Middle East.”

The Trump administration withdrew from the organization in 2017, a decision that took effect the following year, citing anti-Israel bias and mismanagement. The U.S. withdrew for the first time from UNESCO back in 1984 under the presidency of Ronald Reagan after charging it with mismanagement, corruption and advancing Soviet interests.

In its written proposal to rejoin, the U.S. said its demand is based on a concrete financial plan to pay an estimated arrear of US$619 covering the five years of its absence.

UNESCO said on June 30 that the U.S. will fund the equivalent of 22 per cent of the regular budget of US$534 million. “To this will be added the progressive payment of their arrears and, as of 2023, voluntary contributions to fund programs including those supporting access to education in Africa, the memory of the Holocaust and the protection of journalists.

“UNESCO will thus benefit from a reinforced budget to implement its programs for education, culture, science and information. It will also be able to step up its actions for Africa and gender equality, two of its strategic priorities.”

“UNESCO’s mandate – education, science, culture, freedom of information – is absolutely central to meeting the challenges of the 21st century. It is this centrality, as well as the easing of political tensions within the organization and the initiatives launched in recent years, that have led the United States to initiate this return.”

“UNESCO has thus been able to launch new initiatives enabling it to fully grasp the challenges of today – such as the ethics of artificial intelligence and the protection of oceans. It has also returned to emblematic field campaigns – such as the reconstruction of the old city of Mosul in Iraq – in line with its historic ambitions.”

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New York, July 10 – Since the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015 with the promise to make a healthy and prosperous world for all by 2030, the world organization has seen its progress and efforts to achieve the goals eroded by climate disasters, the COVID pandemic, the Russian war in Ukraine and rising food prices.

With seven more years to go, the U.N. now said the 17 SDGs are “in peril.” It called on governments to redouble and accelerate efforts to achieve the goals or else they should expect greater political instability, upended economics leading to irreversible damage and hundreds of millions of people hungry and poor.

The organization has launched a High Level Political Forum on the SDGs, July 10-19, with the participation of government officials, experts and civil society organizations to “urgently set the world on track to delivering the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The U.N. said the high-level forum provides “an opportunity to review progress, address shared challenges, showcase successes, and identify measures to mobilize action on the SDGs.” The forum will be a key contributor to the SDG Summit September 16-19 when government leaders of the 193 member states will attend the 78th U.N. General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York.

For more information, please visit: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/

Hashtag: #SDGreport #SDGs #GlobalGoals

 
“At midpoint of implementation, the SDGs—the rescue plan for people and planet—are in jeopardy. Ten of millions have fallen into poverty. Inequalities have worsened, strikingly so for women and girls. More people are being denied healthcare and education and the world is back at hunger levels not seen since 2005.”

The Sustainable Development Goals

The U.N. had intended to achieve globally, by 2030, the following goals: no poverty; zero hunger, good health and welling being, quality education, gender equality,  clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace justice and strong institutions and partnership for the goals.

Failure to achieve the SDGs has consequences

The following is part of a press release from the U.N. Department on Global Communications on the high-level forum:

“If the present trends persist, by 2030, a staggering 575 million people will remain trapped in extreme poverty and an estimated 84 million children and young people will still be out of school.

Based on data collected in 2022 in 119 countries, 56 per cent of the countries lacked laws that prohibit direct and indirect discrimination against women. Global temperature rise has already hit 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels and is likely to reach or surpass the critical 1.5 °C tipping point by 2035.

The report also warns that while lack of progress is universal, it is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable who are experiencing the worst effects of these unprecedented global challenges.

Potential for breakthrough

But progress in some areas since 2015 illustrates the potential for further advances. The share of global population with access to electricity has increased from 87 per cent in 2015 to 91 per cent in 2021, with close to 800 million additional people being connected.

The report also illustrates that by 2021, 133 countries had already met the SDG target on under-5 mortality, and an additional 13 are expected to do so by 2030. Despite the global manufacturing growth slowdown, medium-high- and high-technology industries demonstrated robust growth rates. Developing countries installed a record-breaking 268 watts per capita of renewable energy-generating capacity in 2021. Additionally, the number of people using the Internet has grown by 65 per cent since 2015, reaching 5.3 billion people of the world’s population in 2022.

These important development gains demonstrate that a breakthrough to a better future for all is possible through the combination of collective action and strong political will, and the effective use of available technologies, resources, and knowledge. This advance can lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, improve gender equality and put the world on a low-emissions pathway by 2030. Strengthening data ecosystems will also be key to understanding where the world stands and what needs to be done to achieve the SDGs.

Additional key facts and figures:

Given historical trends, only one-third of countries will have halved their national poverty rates by 2030 from 2015.

Nearly 1 in 3 (2.3 billion people) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021.

Between 2015 and 2022, rising access to safely managed drinking water, safely managed sanitation, and basic hygiene resulted in an additional 687 million, 911 million, and 637 million people gaining access to these essential services, respectively.

Effective HIV treatment has significantly reduced global AIDS-related deaths by 52 per cent since 2010, and at least one neglected tropical disease has been eliminated in 47 countries.

As of 2020, nearly 1.1 billion people lived in slums or slum-like conditions in urban areas.

The number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies has doubled since 2015, indicating increased awareness and preparedness for managing and reducing the impact of disasters.”

For more information, please visit: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/

Hashtag: #SDGreport #SDGs #GlobalGoals

Media contacts (Interviews available upon request): 

Sharon Birch, UN Department of Global Communications, birchs@un.org

Helen Rosengren, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, rosengrenh@un.org

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Port of Spain/New York, July 3 – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) celebrated its 50^th anniversary of regional integration with a call from the United Nations to help Haiti, which has descended into lawlessness and the population demand urgent humanitarian assistance.

“I am coming here from Haiti,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the organization headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago. CARICOM comprises 20 countries in the region.

 “The security situation is appalling, humanitarian needs are soaring, and there is no political solution in sight. It is impossible to look at the crisis without seeing the long shadow of centuries of colonial exploitation, extortion, dictatorship and other screaming injustices,” he said. “We must help ease the suffering of the Haitian people.”

Before his meeting with CARICOM in Port of Spain, Guterres visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and met with Haitian leaders on July 2. U.N. News said he expressed solidarity with the Haitian people and deep concern at the extreme vulnerability faced by the Haitian people – especially women and girls – because of brutally violent and “predatory” armed gangs, like those encircling the capital, blocking main roads and controlling access to water, food, health care.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the widespread sexual violence which the armed gangs have used as a weapon to instill fear,” he said, calling on the entire international community to urgently “put the victims and the civilian population at the center of our concerns and priorities.”

To the Caribbean governments, Guterres said, “The challenges we see in Haiti require greater engagement and solidarity. This is precisely the founding spirit of CARICOM.”

“You have advanced cooperation on every front – from economic and social development … to fighting illegal drugs and arms trafficking… to combatting non-communicable diseases … to advancing gender parity. And, of course, you have championed climate action and focused attention on the plight of Small Island Developing States.

“The United Nations relies on Caribbean expertise and leadership.”

Guterres said he will continue to urge the U.N. Security Council to authorize the immediate deployment of an international force to assist Haiti’s police force in its fight against gangs that have been terrorizing the population.

He said the Haitian people are exhausted as they tried to grapple with “a cascade of crises and unacceptable living conditions” and pointed out that one in two Haitians lives in extreme poverty and does not have access to drinking water.

The U.N. humanitarian response plan in Haiti, which called for $720 million to assist 3 million Haitians, is only 23 per cent funded, he said.

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Geneva/New York, June 27 – Humanitarians said they have so far received only 20 per cent of the US$54 billion they requested for the 249 million people who need urgent humanitarian assistance.

The 249 million are part of the worldwide total of 362 million people in need this year as they are battered by climate disasters, conflicts and food insecurity, the U.N. said. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said its Global Humanitarian Overview requires $54.8 billion – the sum of 43 appeals – and it is made up of 26 Humanitarian Response Plans (HRP) that include nine regional plans, five Flash Appeals among other types of plans. It said halfway into 2023, donors have provided US$10.7 billion of the US$54.8 billion.

“We need to help people in need around the world,” the office said. “With needs growing exponentially, funding is struggling to keep pace. Unequal funding across emergencies and sectors have also challenged our ability to respond to the surging needs. Current underfunded crises include Myanmar, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Venezuela, Somalia and Afghanistan.”

“These funding gaps have real consequences on millions of people’s food insecurity, health and protection, among others, and we encourage donors to continue to contribute generously to the humanitarian response plans.”

OCHA said 25 out of 43 inter-agency response plans (58 per cent) are currently funded below the global average of 20 per cent. It said this year’s percentage is about the same as in 2022 and 2021, “suggesting that the imbalance in funding coverage for appeals remains a protracted problem.”

“In absolute terms, Afghanistan needs (- $950 million), Ukraine (- $600 million) and Syria ( – $60 million) have seen the sharpest decreases in funding compared to the same time last year. Conversely, the following plans have seen increases in both absolute funding and coverage compared to the same time last year: Burkina Faso, Burundi, DRC, El Salvador, Haiti, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan. The gap between financial requirements and resources currently stands at $43 billion – the highest ever. This is more than double the entire requirements of the GHO ($20 billion) in 2016.”

On June 21, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the start of a three-day meeting on humanitarian affairs of the U.N. Economic and Social Council in Geneva that the number of people requiring assistance grew by 30 per cent to 360 million since the start of 2022. They include more than 110 million forced from their homes and more than 260 million who are facing acute food insecurity, with some at risk of famine.

“The global economic woes, started by COVID and aggravated by the worldwide impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, are hitting the most vulnerable hardest,” Guterres said. “Sustainable development – the ultimate prevention tool – has stagnated or gone into reverse. And the climate crisis has contributed to the deaths of thousands of people and displaced millions over the past year.”

“Ordinary people are paying an unacceptable price, as parties to conflict violate international law, attack hospitals, schools and critical infrastructure, and commit rampant human rights violations, including gender-based violence against women and girls.”

Ramesh Rajasingham, the U.N. Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told the meeting that the series of recent crises that triggered humanitarian demands are threatening progress made to improve living standards around the world.

“We are now experiencing the highest number of violent conflicts since 1945. You need look no further than the renewed conflict in Sudan in April this year, and the recent destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine, to just what impacts these and other conflicts are having,” he said.

He said extreme weather and climate-related disasters are having an increasingly “deleterious impact” on people’s lives. He said the recent drought, the most severe in recent history in the Horn of Africa, brought people to the edge of famine and has left more than 30 million people facing acute food insecurity and hunger.

He cited also the devastating floods in Pakistan, West and Central Africa, and Central America, and tropical storms in Southern Africa, which destroyed homes, lives and livelihoods.

The U.N. and humanitarians said that 2023 has seen a record number of people around the world needing humanitarian assistance. They include 43.4 million in the Horn of Africa; 28.3 million in Afghanistan; 24.7 million in Sudan; and 18 million in Ukraine.

Donors announce US$1.5 billion for humanitarian aid in Sudan

U.N. News reported that a pledging conference was held in Geneva on June 19 for humanitarian assistance in Sudan and refugees at Sudan’s borders with neighboring countries. Donors announced US$1.5 billion to fund life-saving relief efforts in Sudan and the region and called on parties in Sudan to immediately end the fighting. The conference was organized by the U.N., Egypt, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the European Union.

The U.N. said 24.7 million people in Sudan, roughly half of the population and more than half of them children, need humanitarian aid and protection. Nearly 1.7 million people have been uprooted within Sudan, while about half a million refugees, asylum-seekers and refugee returnees have sought safety in neighboring countries.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said: “Each day the crisis in Sudan continues, the humanitarian situation grows ever more desperate. Despite the raging violence, humanitarian workers – including our heroic local partners operating on the front lines – are pressing ahead with their efforts to deliver aid to people in need. The funding announced today – including an additional $22 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund, bringing total funding through CERF and the Sudan Humanitarian Fund to $102 million – will be a lifeline for millions of people living in the world’s most dangerous and difficult conditions.”

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said: “Since mid-April, we have seen senseless, brutal fighting and attacks in Sudan, forcing millions to flee for their lives to wherever they can find safety. The commitment shown today by donors to those affected comes just in time, as our resources for the situation are dwindling. The pledges will save lives and help alleviate some hardship. Ultimately, of course, only a durable peace will allow the Sudanese to restart their lives.”

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Geneva/New York, June 21 – An estimated 360 million people currently need urgent humanitarian assistance, the victims of extreme weather, climate disasters and unresolved conflicts, the United Nations said.

The number of people requiring assistance grew by 30 per cent to 360 million since the start of 2022. They include more than 110 million forced from their homes and more than 260 million who are facing acute food insecurity, with some at risk of famine, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the start of a three-day meeting on humanitarian affairs of the U.N. Economic and Social Council in Geneva.

“The global economic woes, started by COVID and aggravated by the worldwide impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, are hitting the most vulnerable hardest,” Guterres said. “Sustainable development – the ultimate prevention tool – has stagnated or gone into reverse. And the climate crisis has contributed to the deaths of thousands of people and displaced millions over the past year.”

“Ordinary people are paying an unacceptable price, as parties to conflict violate international law, attack hospitals, schools and critical infrastructure, and commit rampant human rights violations, including gender-based violence against women and girls.”

Ramesh Rajasingham, the U.N. Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told the meeting that the series of recent crises that triggered humanitarian demands are threatening progress made to improve living standards around the world.

“We are now experiencing the highest number of violent conflicts since 1945. You need look no further than the renewed conflict in Sudan in April this year, and the recent destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine, to just what impacts these and other conflicts are having,” he said.

He said extreme weather and climate-related disasters are having an increasingly “deleterious impact” on people’s lives. He said the recent drought, the most severe in recent history in the Horn of Africa, brought people to the edge of famine and has left more than 30 million people facing acute food insecurity and hunger.

He cited also the devastating floods in Pakistan, West and Central Africa, and Central America, and tropical storms in Southern Africa, which destroyed homes, lives and livelihoods.

The U.N. and humanitarians said that 2023 has seen a record number of people around the world needing humanitarian assistance. They include 43.4 million in the Horn of Africa; 28.3 million in Afghanistan; 24.7 million in Sudan; and 18 million in Ukraine.

Donors announce US$1.5 billion for humanitarian aid in Sudan

U.N. News reported that a pledging conference was held in Geneva on June 19 for humanitarian assistance in Sudan and refugees at Sudan’s borders with neighboring countries. Donors announced US$1.5 billion to fund life-saving relief efforts in Sudan and the region and called on parties in Sudan to immediately end the fighting. The conference was organized by the U.N., Egypt, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the European Union.

The U.N. said 24.7 million people in Sudan, roughly half of the population and more than half of them children, need humanitarian aid and protection. Nearly 1.7 million people have been uprooted within Sudan, while about half a million refugees, asylum-seekers and refugee returnees have sought safety in neighboring countries.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said: “Each day the crisis in Sudan continues, the humanitarian situation grows ever more desperate. Despite the raging violence, humanitarian workers – including our heroic local partners operating on the front lines – are pressing ahead with their efforts to deliver aid to people in need. The funding announced today – including an additional $22 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund, bringing total funding through CERF and the Sudan Humanitarian Fund to $102 million – will be a lifeline for millions of people living in the world’s most dangerous and difficult conditions.”

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said: “Since mid-April, we have seen senseless, brutal fighting and attacks in Sudan, forcing millions to flee for their lives to wherever they can find safety. The commitment shown today by donors to those affected comes just in time, as our resources for the situation are dwindling. The pledges will save lives and help alleviate some hardship. Ultimately, of course, only a durable peace will allow the Sudanese to restart their lives.”

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New York, June 12 – While digital technologies are crucial tools to keep societies connected and informed, they have also enabled the spread of hate speech and disinformation that transformed into a global threat, the United Nations said at the launch a new policy brief calling for information integrity.

The brief said, “The danger cannot be overstated. Social media-enabled hate speech and disinformation can lead to violence and death. The ability to disseminate large-scale disinformation to undermine scientifically established facts poses an existential risk to humanity and endangers democratic institutions and fundamental human rights.”

The policy brief is available at https://www.un.org/en/common-agenda/policy-briefs

The brief said hate speech and mis- and disinformation have spread to all major issues. For U.N.-led works, they have challenged and delayed urgent action on climate change, development and peacekeeping. Mis- and disinformation about the virus and vaccination also widely spread during the Covid-19 pandemic. The brief said any future solutions to protect information integrity should be future-proof. But the fast development of potentially powerful advance in artificial intelligence is also a matter of concern.

It said Open AI’s ChatGPT-3 platform, which was launched in November 2022 and gained 100 million users by January 2023, has “unimaginable potential” to address global challenges. However, “there are serious and urgent concerns about the equally powerful potential of recent advances in artificial intelligence – including image generators and video deepfakes – to threaten information integrity. Recent reporting and research have shown that generative artificial intelligence tools generated disinformation and hate speech, convincingly presented to users as fact”.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio said the proliferation of hate and lies in the digital space is currently causing grave global harm, fueling conflict, death and destruction, threatening democracy and human rights and undermining public health and climate action.

“Social media platforms have helped the United Nations to engage people around the world in our pursuit of peace, dignity and human rights on a healthy planet,” he said. “But today, this same technology is often a source of fear, not hope. Digital platforms are being misused to subvert science and spread disinformation and hate to billions of people.”

The U.N. chief said the organization is developing a Code of Conduct for Information Integrity on Digital Platforms, which would provide a “gold standard for guiding action to strengthen information integrity.” The code will be presented to the Summit of the Future taking place in 2024.

Guterres said the proposals in the policy brief are aimed at creating “guardrails to help governments come together around guidelines that promote facts, while exposing conspiracies and lies, and safeguarding freedom of expression and information; and to help tech companies navigate difficult ethical and legal issues and build business models based on a healthy information ecosystem.”

Independent media

The brief supports a strengthened independent media at a time dozens of countries have taken measures to undermine press freedom and 85 per cent of the world’s population experienced a decline in press freedom in the last five years.

“Real public debate relies on the facts, told clearly, and reported ethically and independently. Ethical reporters, with quality training and working conditions, have the skills to restore balance in the face of mis- and disinformation. They can offer a vital service: accurate, objective and reliable information about the issues that matter. “

The policy brief is available at https://www.un.org/en/common-agenda/policy-briefs

How mis- and disinformation affects major climate and environment programs

Following are excerpts from the policy briefs. “Mis- and disinformation have delayed urgently needed action to ensure a liveable future for the planet. Climate mis- and disinformation can be understood as false or misleading content that undercuts the scientifically agreed basis for the existence of human-induced climate change, its causes and impacts. Coordinated campaigns are seeking to deny, minimize or distract from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientific consensus and derail urgent action to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.”

“A small but vocal minority of climate science denialists continue to reject the consensus position and command an outsized presence on some digital platforms. For example, in 2022, random simulations by civil society organizations revealed that Facebook’s algorithm was recommending climate denialist content at the expense of climate science.

 “On Twitter, uses of the hashtag #climatescam shot up from fewer than 2,700 a month in the first half of 2022 to 80,000 in July and nearly 193,000 in December. The phrase was also featured by the platform among the top results in the search for “climate”.

“In February 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called out climate disinformation for the first time, stating that a “deliberate undermining of science” was contributing to “misperceptions of the scientific consensus, uncertainty, disregarded risk and urgency, and dissent”.

“Some fossil fuel companies commonly deploy a strategy of ‘greenwashing’, misleading the public into believing that a company or entity is doing more to protect the environment, and less to harm it, than it is. The companies are not acting alone. Efforts to confuse the public and divert attention away from the responsibility of the fossil fuel industry are enabled and supported by advertising and public relations providers, advertising tech companies, news outlets and digital platforms. Advertising and public relations firms that create greenwashing content and third parties that distribute it are collectively earning billions from these efforts to shield the fossil fuel industry from scrutiny and accountability. Public relations firms have run hundreds of campaigns for coal, oil and gas companies”. (By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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The world remains off track to achieve universal access to clean cooking by 2030. Up to 2.3 billion people still use polluting fuels and technologies for cooking, largely in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Following is a news release from the U.N. Department of Global Communications.

Washington, New York, Geneva, Abu Dhabi, 6 June 2023 – A new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO), released today, finds that the world is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 for energy by 2030.

This year marks the halfway point for achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. SDG 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.

The goal includes reaching universal access to electricity and clean cooking, doubling historic levels of efficiency improvements, and substantially increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix. Attaining this goal will have a deep impact on people’s health and well-being, helping to protect them from environmental and social risks such as air pollution, and expanding access to primary health care and services.

The report can be downloaded at https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/

The 2023 edition of Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report warns that current efforts are not enough to achieve the SDG 7 on time. There has been some progress on specific elements of the SDG 7 agenda – for example, the increased rate of using renewables in the power sector – but progress is insufficient to reach the targets set forth in the SDGs.

The global energy crisis is expected to stimulate the deployment of renewables and improve energy efficiency with several government policies pointing to increasing investment. However, IRENA estimates show that international public financial flows in support of clean energy in low- and middle-income countries have been decreasing since before the COVID-19 pandemic and funding is limited to a small number of countries. To meet SDG 7 targets and to ensure that people fully benefit from the socio-economic gains of the shift to sustainable energy, it is necessary to structurally reform international public finance and define new opportunities to unlock investments.

The report also finds that mounting debt and rising energy prices are worsening the outlook for reaching universal access to clean cooking and electricity. Current projections estimate that 1.9 billion people will be without clean cooking and 660 million without electricity access in 2030 if we do not take further action and continue with current efforts.

These gaps will negatively impact the health of our most vulnerable populations and accelerate climate change. According to WHO, 3.2 million people die each year from illness caused by the use of polluting fuels and technologies, which increase exposure to toxic levels of household air pollution.

Key findings of the report – In 2010, 84% of the world’s population had access to electricity. This increased to 91% in 2021, meaning more than a billion people gained access over that period. However, the growth pace of access slowed in 2019–2021 compared to previous years. Rural electrification efforts contributed to this progress, but a large gap within urban areas remains.

In 2021, 567 million people in sub-Saharan Africa did not have access to electricity, accounting for more than 80% of the global population without access. The access deficit in the region stayed almost the same as in 2010.

The world remains off track to achieve universal access to clean cooking by 2030. Up to 2.3 billion people still use polluting fuels and technologies for cooking, largely in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The use of traditional biomass also means households spend up to 40 hours a week gathering firewood and cooking, which prohibits women from pursuing employment or participating in local decision-making bodies and children from going to school.

According to the 2019 WHO estimates, 3.2 million premature deaths each year were attributable to household air pollution created by using polluting fuels and technologies for cooking. Renewable electricity use in global consumption has grown from 26.3% in 2019 to 28.2% in 2020, the largest single-year increase since the start of tracking progress for the SDGs.

Efforts to increase renewables’ share in heating and transport, which represent more than three quarters of global energy consumption, remain off target to achieve 1.5oC climate objectives.

Energy intensity – the measure of how much energy the global economy uses per dollar of GDP – improved from 2010–2020 by 1.8% annually. This is higher than the 1.2% improvement from the previous decades. However, the rate of energy intensity improvement has slowed in recent years and dropped to 0.6% in 2020. This makes it the worst year for energy intensity improvement since the global financial crisis, albeit largely due to pandemic-related restrictions, which may indicate only a temporary setback. Annual improvements through 2030 must now average 3.4% to meet the SDG target 7.3.

International public financial flows in support of clean energy in developing countries stand at US$ 10.8 billion in 2021, 35% less than the 2010–2019 average and only about 40% of the 2017 peak of US$ 26.4 billion. In 2021, 19 countries received 80% of the commitments.

The report will be presented to top decision-makers at a special launch event on 11 July 2023 at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, ahead of the second SDG Summit in September 2023 in New York. The authors urge the international community and policymakers to safeguard the gains made toward achieving SDG 7, to advance structural reforms, and to maintain a strategic focus on the vulnerable countries needing the most support.

QUOTES

“The energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to have a profound impact on people all around the world. High energy prices have hit the most vulnerable hard, particularly those in developing economies. While the clean energy transition is moving faster than many think, there is still a great deal of work needed to deliver sustainable, secure and affordable access to modern energy services for the billions of people who live without it. Successful energy transitions rely on effective policies and technological innovation combined with large-scale mobilisation of investment capital. The international community must leverage all these tools to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by the end of this decade.” Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency

“Cost-competitive renewable energy has yet again demonstrated remarkable resilience, but the poorest in the world are still largely unable to fully benefit from it. To realise SDG7 without compromising climate goals, we must bring about systemic change in the way international cooperation works. It is crucial that multilateral financial institutions direct financial flows more equitably around the world to support renewables deployment and related physical infrastructure development.” Francesco La Camera, Director-General, International Renewable Energy Agency

“Despite advances towards sustainable energy targets at the mid-point of Agenda 2030, Goal 7 seems harder to reach than it was in 2015 and scaled-up action is necessary if we are to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. Access to electricity and clean cooking still display great regional disparities and should be the focus of action to ensure that no one is left behind. Investment needs to reach the least-developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa to ensure more equitable progress toward Goal 7.” Stefan Schweinfest, United Nations Statistics Division

“Despite a recent slowdown in the global pace of electrification, the number of people without electricity almost halved over the past decade, from 1.1 billion in 2010 down to 675 million in 2021. Nonetheless, additional efforts and measures must urgently be put in place to ensure that the poorest and hardest-to-reach people are not left behind. To reach universal access by 2030, the development community must scale up clean energy investments and policy support.” Guangzhe Chen, Vice President for Infrastructure, World Bank

“We must protect the next generation by acting now.  Investing in clean and renewable solutions to support universal energy access is how we can make real change.  Clean cooking technologies in homes and reliable electricity in health-care facilities can play a crucial role in protecting the health of our most vulnerable populations.” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, World Health Organization

About the report

This report is published by the SDG 7 custodian agencies, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO) and aims to provide the international community with a global dashboard to register progress on energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy and international cooperation to advance SDG 7.

This is the ninth edition of this report, formerly known as the Global Tracking Framework (GTF). This year’s edition was chaired by the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The report can be downloaded at https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/

Funding for the report was provided by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).

Media contacts

IEA: Merve Erdil, merve.erdil@iea.org – IRENA: Nanda Febriani Moenandar, nmoenandar@irena.org

UNSD: Francyne Harrigan (UNDGC), harriganf@un.org; Pragati Pascale (UNDESA), pascale@un.org

World Bank: Lucie Blyth (ESMAP), lblyth1@worldbankgroup.org

WHO: mediainquiries@who.int, Paul Safar, safarp@who.int

Technical focal points

IEA: Gianluca Tonolo, gianluca.tonolo@iea.org

IRENA: Mirjam Reiner mreiner@irena.org & Gerardo Escamilla gescamilla@irena.org

UNSD: Leonardo Souza, souzal@un.org

World Bank: Elisa Portale eportale@worldbank.org & Jiyun Park jpark24@worldbank.org

WHO: mediainquiries@who.int, Heather Adair-Rohani, adairrohanih@who.int, Josselyn Mothe, mothej@who.int

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Rome/New York, May 31 – Urgent appeals for fresh funds to support life-saving humanitarian aid have increased, compelled by alarming facts that 18 hunger “hotspots” in 22 countries have worsened and have spread.

The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Program said in a report that Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen are at the highest alert level of hunger.

Conditions in Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali in the Sahel, and the Sudan are now at the highest concern levels due to severe movement restrictions to people and goods because of the war in Sudan.

Hunger hotspots with very high concern exist in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, Pakistan and Syria.

The report said Lebanon is added to the list of hotspots, joining Malawi and El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in Central America.

“All hotspots at the highest level have communities facing or projected to face starvation, or are at risk of sliding towards catastrophic conditions, given they have already emergency levels of food insecurity and are facing severe aggravating factors. These hotspots require the most urgent attention,” the report said.

“All these hotspots have a large number of people facing critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life‑threatening conditions in the coming months.”

The report titled “Hunger Hotspots – FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity” called for urgent humanitarian action to save lives, prevent starvation and death in hotspots where acute hunger is at a high risk of worsening from June to November 2023. Read report 

“Business-as-usual pathways are no longer an option in today’s risk landscape if we want to achieve global food security for all, ensuring that no one is left behind.” said Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General.

“We need to provide immediate time-sensitive agricultural interventions to pull people from the brink of hunger, help them rebuild their lives, and provide long-term solutions to address the root causes of food insecurity. Investing in disaster risk reduction in the agriculture sector can unlock significant resilience dividends and must be scaled up,” he added.

“Not only are more people in more places around the world going hungry, but the severity of the hunger they face is worse than ever,” said Cindy McCain, WFP’s Executive Director.

“This report makes it clear: we must act now to save lives, help people adapt to a changing climate, and ultimately prevent famine. If we don’t, the results will be catastrophic,” McCain warned.

Yemen – The report said the country is one of the most food insecure countries in the world under the impact of years of conflict and economic decline. It said about 3.2 million people experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in government-controlled areas, representing a 23 per cent reduction from the period between October and December 2022. From June to December 2023, the report estimated that the number of people likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity could increase to 3.9 million, out of which 2.8 million people are projected to reach crisis levels of hunger.

Sudan – WFP reported on May 30^th that it was able to reach desperate families trapped in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, for the first time since the armed conflict broke out on April 15.

WFP’s Country Director in Sudan, Eddie Rowe, said the agency distributed food assistance to 15,000 people in both Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) controlled areas of Omdurman. As reported by the U.N., Rowe said other recent food distributions took place in Wadi Halfa in Northern State to reach 8,000 people fleeing Khartoum and on their way to Egypt, as well as to 4,000 newly displaced people in Port Sudan.

WFP said it has been able to reach 725,000 people across 13 states in the country since it resumed its operations on May 3. WFP said some 16 million Sudanese have had difficulty to afford a meal a daybefore war broke out. It said food insecure population is expected to increase by about 2.5 million in coming months in addition to those already in the difficult situation. The agency said it plans to reach 5.9 million people across Sudan over the next six months and needs $730 million in humanitarian aid, telecommunications and logistics services.

Syria – The U.N. has appealed for $5.4 million to assist 15.3 million, or close to 70 per cent of Syria’s population, who are experiencing some degree of “humanitarian stress.”

Ghada Mulawi, the U.N. humanitarian office’s deputy operations director, told the U.N. Security Council on May 30^th that the Syrian people “are more and more reliant on humanitarian assistance as basic services and critical infrastructure are on the brink of collapse. Syrian people need the support of the international community now more than at any time in the past 12 years.”

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