The key issues at stake at the next G7 summit

Development Initiatives has signed an open letter to G7 leaders, urging them to fulfil their promise to tackle climate change, poverty and hunger.

The world is facing multiple, protracted and concurrent crises, from climate change-driven disasters and conflicts to increasing poverty and food insecurity. While the current picture is bleak, the leaders of some the world’s richest countries – the G7 – have the power to rebalance the books by reforming global financial and debt architecture and redoubling efforts towards the green transition.

As the 50th G7 Summit approaches, Development Initiatives is one of 19 organisations to sign a letter calling on the G7 leaders to reaffirm their commitment to ensuring a sustainable and equitable global future.

You hold immense power and responsibility in the world, representing a quarter of the global economy, causing one fifth of global emissions and providing the majority – three quarters – of funding for climate and development needs in the Global South. Despite current global challenges, your influence is crucial in tackling issues like the climate crisis, extreme poverty, and global hunger.
NGO letter to G7 leaders

The letter calls on the G7 to address four key issues:

1) Prevent worsening food insecurity and global nutrition by increasing IDA contributions by 25% in real terms.

2) Support global financial reform through the reallocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and encourage other countries to do the same.

3) Help poorer nations impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic or other external shocks by implementing debt pause clauses .

4) Ensure the obligations of the Paris Agreement are met through the development of comprehensive and goal-orientated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).