Food Systems Summit, G20, Afghanistan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (26 July 2021)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Food Systems Summit, G20, Afghanistan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (26 July 2021)"
The topics: Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for Secretary-General. Highlights: - Secretary-General/Pre-Summit of the Food Systems Summit - Deputy Secretary-General/Pre-Summit of the Food Systems Summit - SG/G20 - Afghanistan - Yemen - FSO SAFER - Mali - South Sudan - Madagascar - Security Council - Honduras/COVID-19 - Philippines/Human Rights Secretary-General/Pre-Summit for the Food Systems Summit Today, the Secretary-General spoke in a video message at the Official Ceremony of the Pre-Summit of the Food Systems Summit, which started in Rome. He stressed that we are at a pivotal moment, and we are seriously off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The Secretary-General noted that the pandemic, which still assails us, has highlighted the links between inequality, poverty, food, disease and our planet. He stressed that at the Pre-Summit, we can define the scope of our collective ambition and strengthen our efforts to achieve all 17 Sustainable Development Goals by transforming our food systems. SG/G20 The Secretary-General issued a statement following the G20 meeting on environment, climate and energy. He said that the world urgently needs a clear and unambiguous commitment to the 1.5-degree goal of the Paris Agreement from all G20 nations. There is no pathway to this goal without the leadership of the G20, he added. Science tells us that in order to meet this ambitious, yet achievable goal, the world must achieve carbon neutrality before 2050 and cut dangerous greenhouse gas emissions by 45 % by 2030 from 2010 levels, the Secretary-General said, adding that we are way off track. In the remaining days before COP 26, the Secretary-General urged all G20 and other leaders to commit to net zero by mid-century; present more ambitious 2030 national climate plans and deliver on concrete policies and actions aligned with a net zero future including no new coal after 2021, phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and agreeing to a minimum international carbon pricing floor as proposed by the IMF. Afghanistan The UN Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, reports that civilian casualties in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 reached record levels, including a particularly sharp increase in killings and injuries since May, when international military forces began their withdrawal and the fighting intensified following the Taliban’s offensive. In a new report issued today, the UN Mission says that Afghanistan is on course for 2021 to witness the highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since UNAMA records began, unless there is a significant de-escalation. Much of the battlefield action during the deadliest months of May and June took place outside cities, in areas with comparatively low population levels, the Mission reports. The number of civilian casualties during May and June – 783 killed and 1,609 injured – was the highest for those months since UNAMA began its systematic documentation in 2009. Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, said that the report provides a clear warning that unprecedented numbers of Afghan civilians will perish and be maimed this year if the increasing violence is not stemmed. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=26%20July%202021


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