Excellencies,

Dear colleagues and friends,

As of now, we do not know what the future has in store for us. However, we do know, environmental and climate risks are long-term challenges to be solved. As Swiss President and Minister for Environment and Energy, I urge to put sustainability at the heart of our recovery measures and as guiding principle as set out by the Agenda 2030.

As leaders of the biggest economies in the world, we cannot escape our responsibilities. Who will implement the 2030 Agenda if not us ? In this sense, 2020 and 2021 are crucial years.

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to see a unified call for climate action in this year's G20 Leaders Declaration.

Let us be clear: G20 members are the biggest emitters. At the same time, they have the biggest capacity for improvement. The G20 has a special responsibility concerning climate change. Therefore, we call on all G20 members to submit enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions and long-term strategies that reflect their highest possible ambition, in line with the recommendations by science. We also urge all G20 members to aim for net-zero emissions by 2050. Switzerland is committed to fulfilling this objective and I very much welcome the commitments in this direction recently formulated by several colleagues today.

We also call on all parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to adopt an ambitious Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. This Framework should include robust implementation and review mechanisms.

Sustainability needs to guide economic policies while considering growing inequalities. We therefore must be open to innovation and embrace new ways of work that will allow future generations to thrive.

Finally, this year, we celebrate 75 years of the United Nations. Let us make a strong stance for solidarity and effective multilateralism. In this sense, we also strongly support the further strengthening of the multilateral system through the necessary reform of the WTO and the continued global engagement of the IMF and World Bank.

I thank Saudi Arabia for having invited Switzerland to the G20 this year and I now wish Italy all the best for its G20 presidency. With all the challenges ahead, it will not be an easy task. I would therefore like to conclude by expressing my respect to the upcoming Italian presidency.

Stay safe and healthy

G20 Leaders’ Summit: Session 2 - Building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future