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Amid uncertain times, governments must attempt to address a deficit of trust they face.
As the world population clock ticks past seven billion, alarm bells are ringing. The gathering force of public protests is the popular expression of an obvious fact: that growing economic uncertainty, market volatility and mounting inequality have reached a point of crisis. Too many people are living in fear. They are discouraged by uncertainty and angry at their diminished prospects. Around kitchen tables and in public squares, they are asking: who will deliver for my family and my community? In these difficult times, the biggest challenge facing governments is not a deficit of resources; it is a deficit of trust. People are losing faith in leaders and public institutions to do the right thing.
G20 meet
The forthcoming G20 meeting in Cannes takes place against this dramatic backdrop. The leaders of the world's largest economies have an historic opportunity and an historic responsibility to reduce the trust deficit. To do so, they must unite. Amid crisis and uncertainty, they must offer clarity of purpose and bold solutions. The time for haggling over incremental steps is long gone. At the 2009 summit in London, G20 leaders showed courage and creativity in stabilising the global financial system. We need similarly ambitious leadership today. We all recognise that budgets are stretched thin. For much of the world, fiscal austerity is the new order of the day. Clearly, the immediate priority in Cannes will be to support the decisions taken in Brussels on the crisis within the eurozone. Yet just as clearly, any effective response to these multiple challenges must be global. More, it must be coupled with an ambitious long-term social agenda. We cannot afford to cut loose those who are most vulnerable the poor, the planet, women and young people. Those least responsible are paying the highest price. Asking them to wait while other problems are solved is not only counter-productive but immoral. In Cannes, leaders should agree to a concrete action plan that advances the well-being of all nations and people, not just the wealthiest and most powerful.
The planet
Just as there can be no sustainable growth without development, there can be no sustainable development without protecting the planet. Our collective health, wealth and well-being depends on how we husband the earth's natural capital the air, rivers and oceans, soils and forests, its full diversity of flora and fauna. Next June, 20 years after the original Earth Summit, the United Nations will host a major conference on sustainable development. Rio+20 is an opportunity to define a clear path to a better future a future of integrated solutions to interrelated problems. That means new initiatives on food and water security. It means advancing on climate change and renewable energy, including innovative means of financing. Above all, it means looking beyond the horizon and thinking strategically about where we must be a decade from now. Three years ago in London, leaders debated how to stimulate short-term global growth. In Cannes, we need to focus on boosting smart long-term investment making the right decisions today to shape the world of tomorrow.