UNDP's Signals Spotlight 2024 highlights suggested initiatives to improve living conditions for the next generations. The document addresses topics that are crucial to sustainable development - such as racial, gender and social equality.
On Monday (22), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched its Signals Spotlight 2024 report during the G20 side event States of the Future. The report points out directions that countries can pursue to ensure global development over three to ten years. In 2024, the document focuses especially on the legacy to future generations.
"Two billion people live in situations of conflict and violence. To them, the well-being of future generations may seem like a remote concern compared to their own hardships from violence. However, we must seek convergence with the future. We cannot just deal with today's challenges," said UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator Marcos Athias Neto during the event.
Among the priorities he highlighted are tackling social inequality, the climate crisis, as well as racial and gender exclusion. Brasil's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauro Vieira also added the urgency of including the topics of hunger, poverty, armed conflicts, and public debt in the debate. "We believe in a modern, open, and transparent State," said Vieira.
To Brasil's Minister of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Esther Dweck, history is now moving towards a consensus on the importance of the State's role in facing challenges, not only in moments of acute crisis but also in the long term.
"The role of the State is not limited, either, to correcting so-called 'market failures'. Its contribution to development and value creation is much broader since it shapes markets and opportunities for innovation and investment. This action requires the State to take risks and deal with uncertainties," she highlighted.
Income distribution and reducing inequality: urgent challenges
In Latin America, government fiscal policies are less effective in distributing income and reducing inequality when compared to Europe, according to José Antonio Ocampo, professor at Columbia University. "We need to have more restrictive tax policies in place in order to have funds and distribute them," said the economist, highlighting the G20 proposal to tax people classified as super-rich and very wealthy.
He also advocated, as is the case in Europe, the need for wide-ranging policies rather than isolated programs-although, in his opinion, specific programs aimed at eradicating poverty also have to be included in government projects.
Executive director of Amnesty International Brasil Jurema Werneck was emphatic in pointing out failures by States in fulfilling their obligations to face several crises simultaneously. "To Amnesty International, the climate crisis is a human rights crisis," said Werneck, adding that it is impossible to imagine initiatives toward equity that do not include minority groups.
Regarding climate, the data presented is that, by 2030, poverty caused by climate change could affect more than 130 million people worldwide. This could worsen problems such as access to water and energy, which may lead to political and economic instability. By 2050, more than three-quarters of the world population could face severe water stress, pushing 158 million women into extreme poverty as a result of rising global temperatures.
Associate Director and Chief of Social Policy at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Natalia Winder-Rossi also highlighted that the adoption of social protection programs has a multiplier effect on society. "Democracy cannot be discussed if only a part of the population is authorized to decide about fundamental public policies. This happens in Brasil and around the world."
States of The Future is carried out by the Brazilian ministries of Management and Innovation in Public Services [Ministério da Gestão e da Inovação em Serviços Públicos/MGI]; Foreign Affairs [Ministério das Relações Exteriores/MRE]; Development, Industry, Trade, and Services [Ministério de Desenvolvimento, Indústria, Comércio e Serviços/MDIC]; by BNDES; and by UNDP. The organization is run by Maranta and the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) in Brasil. The Open Society Foundations and República.org support States of the Future.
