Deborah BodundeAntónio Guterres, United Nations secretary-general, has called for a radical reform of the global financial system, in favour of developing countries.He said loss and damage from the impact of climate change disproportionately affects countries least responsible for the climate crisis.“From floods and droughts to cyclones and torrential rains, as always, those countries least responsible are the first to suffer.
He said he is “deeply frustrated that global leaders are not giving this life-or-death emergency the action and investment it requires”.The UN chief, who said the body is actively pursuing a global financial reform, said the international banking system needs to be reformed in order to provide finance for developing countries.
“So, we need, first of all, to recognise that we have presently a situation in the developing world in which countries are strangled by debt and countries have no access to the financial resources they need in order to be able, not only to address the dramatic challenges they face, but also to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
“So, multilateral development banks, even beyond their loans, need to provide more guarantees to bring private finance at reasonable cost, must be first risk takers and coalitions of financial institutions to support developing countries, and this is true in relation to situations like Pakistan.”