Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, calls for global cooperation to strengthen supply chain and energy market resilience in the first G20 of the year, with Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting under the Indonesian Presidency. He reiterated the importance of future pandemic preparedness and the need to help developing countries meet their climate goals.
Rishi Sunak was the lead speaker in the Global Health and Economy session on February 17. He urged the G20 group to work together to share information and better understand new and evolving risks for global energy markets and supply chains as the world transitions to a lower-carbon and more digital economy.
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During the meeting, the Chancellor said, “As we know, high energy prices and disruptions to our global supply chains have caused real challenges in many of our economies. It is critical that we, together, work to promote the resilience of energy markets and supply chains to future shocks while remaining committed to openness.”
He also reiterated the importance of preparing for future pandemics and the need to invest to ensure our health systems are ready to avoid fiscal and economic costs further down the line.
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Sunak said that a complete global economic recovery “will not be possible until we achieve our immediate priority of getting vaccines from airports to arms”.
Part of the response will be through strengthening existing institutions. The Chancellor noted the UK’s role in hosting the global Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI) conference on March 8, further cementing the UK’s leadership in supporting innovative financing.
This global coalition has been created to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enable equitable access to these vaccines for people during outbreaks.
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Rishi Sunak also highlighted the importance of ensuring that the international community continues to help developing countries fulfill their climate goals, in line with what was agreed at COP26 in Glasgow last year.
Ministers also agreed to continue monitoring significant global risks arising from geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic and financial vulnerabilities.