INTERVENTO DEL PRESIDENTE MARIO DRAGHI AL SUMMIT B20

President Marcegaglia, 
President Bonomi, 
Distinguished Authorities,
B20 Members,
Ladies and Gentlemen, 

I would like to thank President Marcegaglia for her kind invitation, her kind words, and her work as B20 Chair this year. 
Today’s Summit is an excellent opportunity to strengthen the ties between the public and the private sector at the multilateral level.
This is essential to ensure a robust, fair and sustainable recovery from the pandemic and to address the other challenges of our times, including climate change.

The speedy development of effective vaccines against Covid-19 shows how cooperation between governments and businesses can – literally – save lives.
The research effort from pharmaceutical companies began immediately after the discovery of the first cases of Covid-19.
Thanks to the ingenuity of the private sector, vaccines were ready soon afterwards, while it normally takes around ten years.  
A mass vaccination campaign became possible barely a year later. 
Governments, on their part, provided generous grants to fund laboratory work, clinical trials and vaccine manufacturing.
The public sector committed significant sums to long-term procurement that cushioned the industry from the risk of failure. 
We have now administered more than 6 billion doses of vaccines worldwide.
Our joint efforts have helped us bring the pandemic under control in many countries and give us hope that its end is finally in sight.

Businesses and governments should also work together to address climate change.
We know that G20 countries are responsible for 75% of global emissions.
Italy’s Presidency of the G20 is working to ensure that we collectively stand by our commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels.
It is in everyone’s interest to meet this objective.
The European Central Bank, my former home, estimates that unfettered climate change will cause a 40% drop in productivity for companies by 2050.
We need large-scale private funding – together with more public investment – to accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon economy. 
Companies are squarely at the centre of the ecological transition. 
You will need to change your productive structure, adapt to new sources of energy and governments are ready to support you.

The fight against malnutrition is another area where we can work together. 
The economic downturn and climate change are making it harder to reach our goal of zero hunger by 2030.
Companies can donate emergency funds and supplies to communities in need.  
You can provide access to your distribution systems to bring aid to remote areas.
And you can help to develop new affordable and nutritious products.
We must aim to feed everyone in the world, and set up food chains that are resilient to future crises.

I also want to highlight the role of the private sector in promoting gender equality. 
As proposed in your Communiqué, companies can boost training opportunities and job creation for women at all levels.
You can strengthen the provision of family care, support working mothers and remove obstacles that hold women back in their careers.
And you can lead by example, offering guidance and technical support to start-ups set up by female entrepreneurs. 

This is what companies can do.
But the public sector must also act to create favourable conditions to unlock private investment. 
Italy’s Presidency of the G20 is working to preserve and strengthen the effective rule-based multilateral trading system within the World Trade Organization. 
We want to keep an open, fair and transparent trade environment that can benefit companies, consumers, and workers.
This means promoting labour rights, together with trade unions and our social partners. 

In particular, we must tackle protectionism on health products.
This is essential to ensure we have the tools to fight this pandemic and prevent future ones.
We must defend the free circulation of vaccines and of raw materials needed to produce them.
I am confident that the G20 Summit in Rome at the end of October will reach a strong commitment to reform the WTO.  

On climate change, as I said earlier, governments must accompany businesses and citizens through the environmental transition.
We must provide clarity and consistency on the rules, help companies and workers seize the opportunities of this transformation and be ready to share some of its financial burden. 
The speed of the transition must keep into account the ability of our productive system to adapt.
And we must maintain public support for our policies – a necessary precondition if these changes are to be sustainable.

Together, governments and businesses can shape a better future for our societies.
The private sector can play an important role in helping us deliver on our G20 agenda. 
I really thank you for your contributions and for your ongoing support.
Thank you, and have a good day.