Italy's Premier Mario Draghi opened a conference of the world's powerhouse economies with a sharp call to pick up the pace in getting vaccines to poor countries, calling the gaping global COVID-19 vaccine gap 'morally unacceptable.'
ROME -- Italy's Premier Mario Draghi made a sharp call to pick up the pace in getting vaccines to poor countries as he opened a conference of the world's powerhouse economies, calling the gaping global COVID-19 vaccine gap "morally unacceptable."
Draghi welcomed the Group of 20 leaders to Rome's Nuvola cloud-like convention center in the Fascist-era EUR neighborhood, which was sealed off from the rest of the capital. European Union leaders will meet off-site with African leaders in efforts to further support the continent's poorest economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on Friday he expects the G20 to confirm an additional US$100 billion to support Africa's economies.
Most of the heads of state and government who are in Rome will head to Glasgow as soon as the G20 is over. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are participating remotely. A recent UN environment report concluded that announcements by dozens of countries to aim for "net-zero" emissions by 2050 could, if fully implemented, limit a global temperature rise to 2.2 degrees Celsius . That's closer but still above the less stringent target agreed in the Paris climate accord of keeping the temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times.
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