Comunicato della Riunione dei Ministri dello Sviluppo del G7 di Pescara – Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale

• Data pubblicazione: 22 Ottobre 2024
• Tipologia: Comunicati

G7 Development Ministers’ Meeting
Pescara, 22-24 October 2024

Communiqué

1. We, the G7 Ministers responsible for Development, met in Pescara, together with some of our key partners, to commit to and call for an ambitious global response to the development challenges and multiple crises that are holding back progress towards implementing the 2030 Agenda and achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Too many people, particularly in low-income countries (LICs), are suffering from the impacts of conflict, economic decline and poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, lack of access to quality, affordable health services, access to water, sanitation and hygiene, the global education crisis, climate change, environmental degradation and pollution, biodiversity loss, scarce water resources, energy insecurity, digital divides, gender inequalities and discrimination.

2. We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, which has caused devastating impacts for the Ukrainian people, including for women and girls, and mass displacement and severe humanitarian need. We underscore the significant disruptions of the Ukrainian health system. We are committed to supporting the government of Ukraine in their continued effort to protect the health of the Ukrainian people. In addition to humanitarian assistance, we particularly recognize the importance of development, recovery and reconstruction assistance to Ukraine’s macro-financial stability, critical infrastructure, economic growth and social resilience, including in view of the country’s accession path to the EU. We look forward to the next Ukraine Recovery Conference, to be hosted in Rome on 10 and 11 July 2025.

3. A year after Hamas’ attacks on 7 October 2023, we condemn once again in the strongest possible terms such unjustified acts of deliberate violence, including the horrifying reports of sexual violence, and stand with the families of the victims and the hostages taken by Hamas. We also reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the unconditional release of all hostages, a significant and sustained increase in the flow of humanitarian assistance, and an end to the conflict. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic, and tens of thousands of innocent lives have been lost. We reiterate the absolute need for the civilian population to be protected and that there must be full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, as a matter of absolute priority. We express concern at the unprecedented level of food insecurity affecting most of the population in the Gaza Strip. International humanitarian law must be respected. Securing full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access in all its forms and through all relevant crossing points remains an absolute priority. We urge all parties to allow the unimpeded delivery of aid and ensure protection of humanitarian workers by properly implementing de-confliction measures. We agree it is critical that UNRWA and other UN organizations and agencies’ distribution networks be fully able to deliver aid to those who need it most, fulfilling their mandate effectively.

4. We are also deeply concerned about the situation in Lebanon. We recall the need for a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible to create space for a diplomatic solution along the Blue Line, consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. This is a necessary path to durably de-escalate tensions, stabilize the Israel-Lebanon border, fully restore the sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability of Lebanon, and return displaced citizens to their homes with safety and security on both sides. We urge all actors to protect civilian populations. We are committed to providing humanitarian assistance to address the urgent needs of civilians in Lebanon. We also express our deep condolences to the families of the civilian victims in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon. We underscore the importance of the United Nations in resolving armed conflict and mitigating the humanitarian impact in the Middle East. In this regard, we acknowledge the role of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to restore peace and security. We are committed to reinforce our support to the mission, pursuant to applicable UN resolutions. We express grave concern with attacks against UNIFIL and urge all parties to respect international humanitarian law and guarantee the safety and security of UNIFIL.

5. We remain seriously concerned also about armed conflicts still affecting many other countries, such as Sudan. Obstruction of humanitarian access by the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces is resulting in the starvation of the Sudanese people. We urge both parties to agree and implement a lasting ceasefire without pre-conditions and to establish safe and stable humanitarian cross border and cross line access channels, including from multiple points of entry to the most devastated areas of Sudan. We urge all parties to ensure the safety of all civilians, including humanitarian personnel, and protect civilian infrastructure and healthcare facilities, in particular.

6. Building on past achievements and existing initiatives by G7, and on our commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the three conventions of the Rio Earth Summit, the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, we will redouble our efforts for concrete and coordinated actions to accelerate progress across all SDGs, end poverty in all its forms, and address the consequences of the multiple crises. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development, and we reaffirm our strong commitment to global solidarity, and just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. In this regard, we particularly welcome the outcomes of the Summit of the Future. Building on these, we stress the urgency and importance of tangible results of the upcoming Conferences of the Parties of the Rio Conventions. We recognize the Fourth UN Conference on Financing for Development in 2025 as a crucial moment to forge global consensus around a modernized development finance architecture that will accelerate progress on the SDGs.

7. We reaffirm our efforts to promote gender equality, empowerment and human rights of women and girls, in all their diversity, and their crucial role in driving sustainable and inclusive development as a priority of our development cooperation and international partnerships.

8. We recognize that global challenges and emergencies, including those related to health, education, energy and food security, the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, as well as natural and climate change-related disasters, demographic challenges, and geopolitical conflicts and wars, often leading to neglected humanitarian and socio-economic crises, disproportionately and negatively affect all women and girls. In this regard, we stress that women’s and girls’ empowerment is crucial, not only for the achievement of full gender equality, but also as a critical driver of peace and security as well as inclusive and sustainable economic growth. We also stress the importance of full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all aspects of decision-making, including in the political, public, economic and private spheres. We express our strong concern about the rollback of the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQIA+ people around the world in particular in time of crisis and we strongly condemn all violations and abuses of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. We will work with global partners to advance gender equality in multilateral fora.

9. In line with the Apulia G7 Leaders’ Communiqué, we affirm our collective commitment to enhance cooperation to address the drivers of irregular migration and forced displacement and seize the opportunities migration brings globally. In doing so we will work in partnership with countries of origin, transit and destination to support their sustainable development, resilience and stability.

10. To achieve these goals, we must work together. The G7 will continue to build strong, equal partnerships based on respect as the basis for development cooperation. We will listen to the needs of our partners, value and promote local leadership and expertise, and identify shared priorities in support of long-term sustainable development, including in cooperation with regions and municipalities that are central to the localization of SDGs and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

11. We know that we urgently need to foster more effective multilateral cooperation, an enabling policy environment, better mobilization and management of domestic resources, a more coordinated and impactful use of existing cooperation resources from G7, and a greater involvement of private investors from G7 and other countries. In this regard, we reiterate our commitment to close cooperation with the G20 and its development initiatives under the Brazilian G20 Presidency including the promotion of Trilateral Cooperation. In support of accelerated progress in relevant UN and other international processes, we welcome the outcomes of the 2024 Hamburg Sustainability Conference as a stepping stone.

12. During the Italian G7 Presidency, we have focused our collaborative efforts on food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture and food systems, as well as on sustainable investments and infrastructure. In addition, given the social effects of the multiple crises and the growing economic and social inequalities in many countries worldwide, we have addressed the resilience of health and education systems. Recognizing the specific sustainable development challenges in Africa, we devote special emphasis to equitable and sustainable partnerships with Africa, based on shared principles, local ownership, and result-based initiatives, and aligned with the African Union Agenda 2063 and the integrated African continental thematic plans.

Food security, nutrition and sustainable food systems

13. We are deeply concerned with the evolving global food security and nutrition crisis, aggravated by climate change, loss of biodiversity, pollution, water scarcity, extreme weather such as floods and droughts, the reduced fiscal space in many developing economies, weak health systems and the growing number of conflicts, including Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. We also recognize that global food security challenges and emergencies disproportionately and negatively affect women and girls in particular. Therefore, as tasked by the Apulia G7 Leaders’ Communiqué, we have further articulated the G7 Apulia Food Systems Initiative (AFSI), a package of interrelated initiatives launched by our Leaders to address the structural obstacles to improve food security and nutrition, to fully harness the central role of food systems for achieving the SDGs and to increase the resilience of food systems in partner countries. In the context of our partnership with Africa for inclusive and sustainable agricultural and food systems transformation, we will support in particular the post-Malabo process, leading to a new Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework in 2025, and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Going forward we will continue our global support to the objectives of AFSI and we will work in synergy with the G7 Finance, Agriculture, Climate and Environment, Health tracks to advance these initiatives.

Synergetic and coherent policies and investments to address the climate-food systems nexus

14. Climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, land degradation, water scarcity, extreme weather such as floods, droughts and desertification are among the key factors impeding progress in the fight to end hunger and malnutrition. At the same time, there can be no solution to the climate and biodiversity crises without a transition to sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems. We therefore commit to increase our efforts to support in a coherent and complementary way the goals of the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), including by placing sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems at the heart of the integrated implementation of the three Rio Conventions, starting with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP 16, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP 29 and the UNCCD COP16 later this year. Doing so provides us with an important opportunity to impact on the acceleration of progress towards the SDGs, since investing in the enhancement of resilient, biodiversity friendly and sustainable agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, and food systems is indispensable to both address the multiple negative effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation, as well as to create economic incentives for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of ecosystems, water resources, and soils, and the adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.

15. We recognize that women and girls are disproportionally affected by the impact of climate change, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, and pollution and that there is a persistent underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in the international, national, and regional fora where the decisions about demographic challenges and environmental policies, strategies and related financing are made. We are determined to support gender equality in all relevant fora and the need for gender-responsive policies as it relates to a multitude of environmental issues. Additional efforts are needed to raise awareness about the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women and girls, and recognizing their critical role as agents of change, particularly within agrifood systems, by meaningfully engaging and partnering with local and rural communities, and promoting action to increase the representation and leadership of all women at all levels of decision making in climate and environmental action, and to improve equal access to land tenure, productive resources, climate-smart technology, and inclusive financial services to increase women’s resilience.

16. To achieve these goals, we support the related significant commitments and programs launched this year by the G7 Ministers of Climate, Energy and Environment, Health and Agriculture, and will support the following multi-stakeholder initiatives: i) the “COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action” and its Technical Cooperation Collaborative (TCC), ii) the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) for the restoration and maintenance of healthy soils and the further development and climate resilience of traditional and indigenous crops in Africa, and iii) a G7 private-public initiative to boost the resilience, environmental sustainability, value addition and circularity of the coffee value chains worldwide. We will also ensure our international development assistance does no harm to nature and delivers positive outcomes overall for people, climate and nature, and we reiterate our call on Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and multilateral funds to further strengthen their efforts to support ambitious climate and biodiversity action.

17. We support the TCC and contribute to its shared goal to help deliver the COP28 UAE Declaration in all countries through new and newly aligned collective investment, including through ongoing and upcoming support to locally-owned plans, TCC strategic partners such as the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, NDC Partnership, and Convergence Initiative as well as the World Bank’s Food System 2030 Trust Fund and the FAO’s Global Roadmap “Achieving SDG2 without breaching the 1.5°C” and FAST initiatives.

18. The TCC aims to provide streamlined policy support of technical cooperation, expertise, and funding that low-income countries request to enhance the analysis of trade-offs and synergies between food security, climate and environmental sustainability goals. To this end, the TCC aims to: support the development of evidence-based plans and investment pipelines, and where possible to unlock investment and co-financing; contribute to scaling-up and enhancing access to all forms of finance including repurposing harmful or inefficient subsidies from the public, philanthropic and private sectors to adapt and transform agriculture and food systems to respond to and mitigate the contribution to climate change; utilize existing coordination and alignment mechanisms at national, regional and global levels, and help establishing new ones when needed; assist, with a focus on Africa, the integration of water resilient agriculture and food systems into National Adaptation Plans, Nationally Determined Contributions, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, and other relevant strategies, as well as the integration of climate action into National Food Systems Transformation Pathways. In this respect, we encourage partner countries in a position to do so to utilize the TCC to support enhanced policies and public support for food systems and climate integrated outcomes, and prioritized investment pipelines and investible programs to deliver on those.

19. We support the contribution to VACS and its goals as a means of building climate-resilient, sustainable food systems grounded in diverse, nutritious, and climate adapted crops grown in a sustainable manner in healthy and fertile soils, while ensuring sustainable use of water resources. We recognize that many indigenous and traditional food crops are highly nutritious and adaptable to local conditions and erratic weather, and despite being underutilized and underinvested, they offer some great economic opportunity, especially for women and youth. We stress the importance of elevating the nexus between crop selection and sustainable land and water use in building climate-neutral, resilient food systems into the global discourse, and integrating this int