Global leaders tackle poverty and climate goals at Spain summit
The U.N. chief, Antonio Guterres, said the event aimed "to repair and rev up" a system of cooperation where "trust is fraying and multilateralism is strained."
While more than 50 world leaders were due to attend, a notable absentee was U.S. President Donald Trump, after the world's biggest economy pulled out of the event and refused to back a plan of action hammered out over the last year.
"The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — our global promise to transform our world for a better, fairer future — is in danger," Guterres told the opening conference session, as the region sweltered under a heat wave.
"The Sevilla Commitment document is a global promise to fix how the world supports countries as they climb the development ladder," he said, even as many richer nations make deep cuts to development aid.
With two-thirds of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals lagging, more than $4 trillion a year in funding was needed, and the world's financial system needed to be retooled even more quickly to make it happen.
As well as helping countries raise more tax to spend on development, Guterres said reform of world development banks needed to be stepped up so they could lend more and draw in private capital.
Tied to that was a need to reform the world's credit rating system to be fairer to developing countries as they attempt to invest in projects that will improve their risk ratings over time.
"Countries need — and deserve — a system that lowers borrowing costs, enables fair and timely debt restructuring, and prevents debt crises in the first place," Guterres said, citing a plan to create a single debt registry for transparency, and efforts to lower the cost of capital through debt swaps.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
29 minutes ago
- The Sun
Arsenal ‘close to Viktor Gyokeres transfer with Gunners in advanced talks with Sporting after ruling out Benjamin Sesko'
ARSENAL are in advanced talks to sign Viktor Gyokeres after honing in on the Swede over their other target Benjamin Sesko, according to reports. The Gunners have been weighing up their options for a new centre-forward and it would appear they are now focusing on Gyokeres. 3 3 According to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Arsenal feel like they are "touching the final line" when it comes to agreeing a deal for the Sporting Lisbon star. While it's also claimed they have already agreed a five-year contract with Gyokeres himself. Gyokeres has found himself trying to force a move away from Sporting this summer after claims that a gentleman's agreement to leave for a cut-price fee between him and the club has not been honoured. Sporting president Federico Varandas has claimed the club are happy to let Gyokeres leave for less than his release clause, but will stand firm when it comes to getting a fair price for the Portuguese league's top scorer. Citing the prices paid for some other players this summer, Varandas told O Jogo: "Sporting does not need to sell him, but we remain sensitive to the dreams of Viktor and any of our athletes. "After weeks of meetings, we are not asking for the release clause and will be reasonable regarding the price we ask for Viktor. Today, I believe there is a strong probability he will leave. 'We have been watching the market and I saw [Martin] Zubimendi, who is six months younger than Viktor, leave for €65million. "I saw Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, both forwards but who, in my opinion, do not have Viktor's market value or quality, being negotiated for around €75million. "Given the demands we consider fair, I believe Viktor could leave – unless he has the worst agent in the world, which is hard for me to believe, because he is one of the best footballers in the world." Adding: "I'm not going to say what the price is, the player knows what it is. Arsenal Plot Big Double Transfer For Eberechi Eze and Hugo Ekitike! | Transfers Exposed "I can tell you that Viktor won't leave for €60million plus €10million he won't, he just won't." Meanwhile Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the club's stance has left Gyokeres feeling "betrayed and tired". It's been claimed that Gyokeres has informed Sporting that he won't be returning to the club and has no intention of playing for them again. Gyokeres scored 39 goals in 33 league appearances last season, more than any other player in Europe's top 10 leagues. Arsenal have also been linked with a move for Sesko, but advancements in the Gyokeres deal would likely spell an end to those talks. The Gunners today announced the arrival of Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea on a £5m deal, with the Spanish goalkeeper set to play backup to first choice shot-stopper David Raya next season. While deals for Brentford 's Christian Norgaard and Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi are also thought to be on verge of completion. 3
Telegraph
43 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Sir Keir Starmer has lost control of the Labour Party
Once you pay the Danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane. As Kipling observed in 1911, it's tempting to 'a rich and lazy nation' to try to spend its way out of trouble rather than deal with the fundamental problem. In surrendering to his rebellious backbenchers on his flagship benefit reforms, Sir Keir Starmer has followed exactly that path. There are, however, two problems with this approach. The first is that Britain, after decades of wasteful spending, and with a sky-high tax burden, is rapidly running out of fiscal road with which to buy out future opposition. The second is that Labour rebels will now smell blood in the water and they will undoubtedly turn their attention to thwarting the Government's attempts to make savings elsewhere. The bill for health and disability benefits is expected to reach £70 billion a year by the end of the decade. These measures were expected to cut them by just £5 billion. A previous climbdown this week had reduced that to £2.5 billion. Now what's left of the Bill has been gutted, with the Government withdrawing elements in a panic. That Sir Keir, who won a majority of 174 just a year ago, has found that he cannot make even a small change to a welfare system that is spiralling out of control without meeting mutiny from his Labour colleagues, speaks poorly of Britain's ability to change course before it is forced to by circumstances beyond its control. In the short run, the Government has a £5 billion hole to fix in its fiscal plans, and a blow to its credibility in the eyes of the bond markets. In the long run, its concession has made it significantly more tempting for Commons rebels to engage in games of chicken in the belief that Sir Keir will back down. The Prime Minister's track record is already littered with U-turns and backtracks but this latest reverse has shown that he may simply be unable to manage his party, let alone govern this country. Indeed, even after this chaotic concession, 49 of his own MPs still voted against the Bill. What prospect is there of Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves now getting to grips with the sort of large scale welfare reform that Britain really needs? The pressure, if anything, seems to be from an ascendant Left which demands more spending, more taxation, more state intervention in the economy: the scrapping of the two child benefit cap is already in the sights for some rebels. It is a bleak thought that Sir Keir's response to this may be to tack Left. Once you pay the Danegeld ...
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Germany foils Iranian plot to attack Jews
Germany has foiled an Iranian plot to attack Israelis and Jewish community leaders. Jens Rommel, the federal prosecutor, said police had arrested 'Ali S', a Danish citizen of Afghan origin, on suspicion of carrying out surveillance of potential targets. Ali S is accused of taking photographs of buildings, including the German-Israeli Society and a house linked to Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. According to Der Spiegel, the German magazine, Ali S was recruited by the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite Iranian military unit formerly led by Qassim Soleimani and now by Esmail Ghaani. Soleimani was assassinated by the United States in 2020. Ghaani is understood be alive, despite reports that he was killed last month during the Iran-Israel missile exchanges. The Quds Force reports directly to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran. Mr Schuster said he was shocked by the news of an apparent attempt on his life. 'The arrest of a suspected spy for the Iranian terror regime, who is said to have spied on Jewish and Israeli facilities in Germany, is a clear alarm signal,' he said. 'This successful interception must be a final signal, to all those who underestimate the hatred and destruction fantasies held by the Mullah regime towards Israel and Jews across the world.' Volker Beck, the president of the German-Israeli Society, said he wished to thank the German security services for their vigilance. He added: 'That Iran prepares and plans these attacks on Jewish representatives and pro-Israel activists is a clear sign of the terrorist nature of this regime.' The arrest came after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire last week, ending a 12-day conflict that killed an estimated 1,000 Iranians and at least 29 Israelis. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, launched a salvo of airstrikes on key Iranian military facilities and its nuclear programme, which Israel regards as an existential threat. The conflict ended when Donald Trump, the US president, struck three Iranian nuclear facilities on the ninth day of the war and secured a ceasefire.
