New York: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres who will be attending four major international Summits in the coming week, said he will carry  to them a strong call for reforms to bring “our outdated multilateral institutions and frameworks in line with the economic and political realities of today’s world, based on equity and solidarity.”

Addressing the media at the UN Headquarters here, he said at the G20 Summit in Delhi which will see the gathering of   the world’s biggest economies, who are the biggest emitters, his message would be  that as climate chaos gathers pace, the world is looking to them.

“They need to step up, accelerating their reduction of emissions – they account for 80 per cent of them – and supporting countries that are already paying the price for decades of heating caused by fossil fuels,” he said.

He said that G20 countries also need to look seriously into reform of global financial institutions, rules and frameworks, to adapt them to today’s realities and more effectively enable developing countries to access the resources they need to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals. “We must overcome the inequalities and divisions that blight our world today, including here at the United Nations,” Guterres said.

In his opening remarks, he referred to the succession of military coups  in recent months particularly in the African continent. “Many countries face deep-seated governance challenges. But military governments are not the solution,” he said adding that they aggravate problems and cannot resolve a crisis but only make it worse. He urged all countries to move quickly to establish credible democratic institutions and the rule of law.

The Secretary General said September marks the start of an intensive month of multilateral diplomacy – both  in New York and around the world. He said that as preparations intensify for the high level week of the General Assembly, he would be travelling to the Africa Climate Summit in Kenya, to the ASEAN-UN Summit in Indonesia, the G20 Summit in India and the Summit of the G77 and China in Cuba.

“This multiplicity of summits reflects the growing multipolarity of our world.  Power is more diffuse. Different countries exert influence in different spheres,” he said.

On the Africa Climate Summit, he said it would  focus on climate action in a region that is paying a high price for an emergency it did nothing to create. The UN-ASEAN Summit will be an opportunity to further cooperation in a dynamic and ever-changing part of the world, he said. And the G77 is the voice of the Global South – the largest group of countries on the international stage.

“Taken together, these summits demonstrate the vitality of our multipolar international community. But multipolarity in itself does not guarantee peace and stability.  On the contrary: without strong multilateral institutions, multipolarity could be a factor for escalating geostrategic tensions, with tragic consequences,” Guterres said.

He felt that unless we strengthen and reform our multilateral frameworks, fragmentation is all but inevitable. And with fragmentation, confrontation can come. Multilateral institutions will only survive if they are truly universal.

At the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, he will address two of the burning injustices of the climate crisis. First, countries across the African continent have contributed almost nothing to global heating – and yet, they are on the frontlines of today’s super-charged storms, droughts and floods.

Second, many African governments struggle to invest in renewable energy when abundant resources – solar, wind, hydro power and critical minerals – are on their doorstep. High levels of debt and high interest rates obstruct their access to the needed finance. He felt that there is need for global efforts to put Africa at the forefront of the renewables revolution.

On the 13th ASEAN-UN Summit in Indonesia, he said   ASEAN is well positioned to build bridges of understanding between countries and cultures at a time of raised tensions and risks between East and West.

“My discussions will also focus on supporting ASEAN’s five-point plan and efforts to engage all sides of the conflict in Myanmar in dialogue, while stressing that the de facto authorities must release all detained leaders and political prisoners, and launch an inclusive process to return to the democratic institutions,” he said.

Unless we act now, the Sustainable Development Goals could become an epitaph for a world that might have been. This issue is vitally important to the G77 and China. At this summit in Cuba, he would focus on getting the 2030 Agenda back on track; using science and technology for good; and ensuring that multilateralism delivers for all countries.

The Secretary General said he looked  forward to engaging with global leaders at these four very different summits before the world comes together for the opening of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

Diplomacy is more important than ever to navigate the tensions of our emerging multipolar world. He said dialogue remains the only way to find joint approaches and common solutions to the global threats and challenges that we face.