Annual Report 2022 UNCTAD
/
2:36
/
MP4
/
191.9 MB

Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA

UNCTAD press conference 03 October 2022

STORYLINE

UN agency warns of policy-induced global recession worse than 2007 financial crisis

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Monday urged advanced economies to change course in their monetary and fiscal policies to avert a global recession worse than the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009.

Excessive monetary tightening and inadequate financial support threatens to leave developing countries exposed to cascading crises of debt, health, and climate, UNCTAD warned in its annual report on trade and development.

“We are in a world of cascading and interconnected crises: climate change, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine,” said Rebeca Grynspan, UNCTAD Secretary-General at a press conference in Geneva. “As the Secretary-General of the UN said, we are in a perfect storm. It is a difficult moment, no doubt, for all of us, but also for policymakers, because choices matter.”

Relying on higher interest rates to bring down prices without generating a recession is an imprudent gamble, the UNCTAD report warned. Central banks’ decisions to increase rates impact emerging economies with high levels of private and public debt, it also noted. Fiscal tightening in developed economies, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have already turned a global slowdown into a downturn.

The synchronized slowdown is hitting all regions but is ringing alarm bells for developing countries. Our calculations show that the average growth rate in developing countries will drop below three per cent, as it did in the last decade of the 1980s,” she said.

Alarming levels of debt distress and under-investment

In addition, “some 90 developing countries have seen their currencies weaken against the dollar this year. And over a third of them have seen that by more than a ten per cent devaluation.”

UNCTAD expects the world economy to grow 2.5 per cent in 2022, and to decelerate further to 2.2 per cent in 2023. That will leave real GDP still below its pre-pandemic trend and generate a cumulative shortfall of more than $17 trillion, close to 20 per cent of the world’s income. This is insufficient for sustainable development, UNCTAD insisted, further squeezing public and private finances and damaging employment prospects.

Sustainable recommendations

UNCTAD urged a course correction in favour of policy measures that directly target price spikes in energy, food, and other vital sectors.

“We need to prioritize progress on a multilateral legal framework for handling debt restructuring, including all official and private creditors. And we also recommend a program of reforms in developing economies to boost productive investment and constrain capital moving to exploit tax loopholes,” added Ms. Grynspan.

Echoing that message, Richard Kozul-Wright, head of the team in charge of the report insisted that the global economy “is not yet in a recession. It's heading towards one and there are downside risks that could push it into one, depending on how policymakers, particularly in the advanced economies, respond to the current situation. So, I think it’s really (worth) watching what policymakers are going to do over the course of the next four to six months.”

UNCTAD provides economic and trade analysis, facilitates consensus-building and offers technical assistance to help developing countries use trade, investment, finance and technology for inclusive and sustainable development.

ends

TRT: 2’36”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 03 Oct. 2022
HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

SHOTLIST

  1. Medium shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
  2. Wide shot, press room with panel of speakers.
  3. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan: “We are in a world of cascading and interconnected crises: climate change, COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. As the Secretary-General of the UN has said, we are in a perfect storm. It is a difficult moment, no doubt, for all of us, but also for policymakers, because choices matter.”
  4. Medium shot, cameras, and journalist.
  5. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan: “The synchronized slowdown is hitting all regions but is ringing alarm bells for developing countries. Our calculations show that the average growth rate in developing countries will drop below three per cent, as it did in the last decade of the 1980s.”
  6. Close up shot, camera screen showing speakers.
  7. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan: “Some 90 developing countries have seen their currencies weaken against the dollar this year; 90 developing countries. And over a third of them have seen that by more than a ten per cent devaluation.”
  8. Medium shot, journalists taking notes.
  9. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan: “We need to prioritize progress on a multilateral legal framework for handling debt restructuring, including all official and private creditors, and we also recommend a program of reforms in developing economies to boost productive investment and constrain capital moving to exploit tax loopholes.”
  10. Medium shot, journalists taking notes.
  11. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Director, Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, UNCTAD, Richard Kozul-Wright: “The global economy is not yet in a recession. It's heading towards one and there are downside risks that could push it into one, depending on how policymakers, particularly in the advanced economies, respond to the current situation. So, I think it’s really (worth) watching what policymakers are going to do over the course of the next four to six months.”
  12. Medium shot, speaker speaking.
  13. Medium shot, staff monitoring.
  14. Close-up shot, hands of journalist typing.

Similar Stories

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNHCR

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025 ENG FRA

Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR

With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine. 

 

Press Conference: Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Secretariat - 25 April 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | BRS

Press Conference: Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Secretariat - 25 April 2025 ENG FRA

2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs)

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 25 April 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | WFP , UNHCR , WHO

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 25 April 2025 ENG FRA

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.

Ethiopia update - WFP

1

1

1

Edited News | WFP

Ethiopia update - WFP ENG FRA

Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday. 

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 22 April 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | WFP

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 22 April 2025 ENG FRA

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, attended by the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP).

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon ENG FRA

Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 15 April 2025

1

1

1

Press Conferences | IOM , OHCHR , UNDP , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNWOMEN

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 15 April 2025 ENG FRA

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP

1

1

1

Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP ENG FRA

Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’

In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Tariff uncertainty and potential   ITC

1

1

1

Edited News | ITC

Tariff uncertainty and potential ITC ENG FRA

Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Sudan

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Sudan ENG FRA

Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.

UN Human Rights Briefing  by spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on OPT

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Briefing by spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on OPT ENG FRA

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.

Two years of war in Sudan – OCHA, OHCHR, UNHCR, UN Women, WFP, WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO

Two years of war in Sudan – OCHA, OHCHR, UNHCR, UN Women, WFP, WHO ENG FRA

Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say

Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.