G7 leaders urged to take bold action to address global crises

Today, Wednesday 12 June, ahead of the G7 summit in Italy, Bond, the UK network for organisations working in international development, has set out what actions G7 countries should take to address global conflicts, extreme hunger, poverty, debt and climate change.

Organisations, including Action for Global Health, Anti-Slavery International, Bretton Woods Project, CAFOD, Climate Action Network UK, Christian Aid, Gender and Development Network (GADN) and Start Network, are calling for G7 leaders to take bold action on the following global issues: humanitarian assistance, food systems, multilateral development bank reform (MDB), climate finance, debt, gender equality, global health and business and human rights.

Key recommendations include:

For G7 leaders to execute their power to ensure International Humanitarian Law and its principles are respected, no matter the context.
G7 countries each individually have an important role to play in reshaping the global food system, particularly through trade rules.
The G7 must demand that MDB policies are supported by strong evidence that they are likely to lead to equitable economic transformation and should focus on development of local and regional markets and private sector.
The G7 summit needs to help set the political conditions necessary to achieve an ambitious new climate finance goal at COP29 in November.
The UK should garner support among G7 countries to significantly scale up grant-based public finance for mitigation, adaptation, and loss & damage.
G7 leaders need to get behind a new international debt architecture. They should promote and support multilateral negotiations to move towards the establishment of a UN sovereign debt work out mechanism as lower income countries have been calling for.

Ahead of the G7 summit, Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond, said:

Business as usual for G7 leaders simply won’t be enough to meet the scale and challenge the world faces as we see escalating global conflicts, extreme hunger, poverty, the debt crisis and climate change. We need G7 leaders to rethink outdated institutions and policies, as well as to strengthen partnerships to bring about transformative, sustainable and lasting global change.

We urge the G7 leaders to uphold international law, prioritise food security, and advance gender equality. The time for upscaling climate finance and providing urgent debt relief for lower income countries is now— bold action and political will are urgently needed to achieve a just, sustainable and secure future.

ENDS.

Notes for editors

Read the Bond G7 briefing.
The briefing is based on the views and recommendations on the key priority issues based on the Civil 7 2024 Communique (with inputs from over 700 organisations from over 70 countries around the world) and contributions from Bond and its members.
This briefing has been shared with the UK G7 Sherpa office and FCDO.
Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.
Bond is a member of the Civil 7, known as the C7, one of the official Engagement Groups of the G7 and represents positions from international civil society.

For further information or interviews please contact Jess Salter at [email protected] or call 07493200979.