STOCKHOLM, 2 June 2022 – Speaking at a high-level side-event at the Stockholm+50 event, the Director General Gerd Müller said solving the world’s great challenges is “not a question of finance – the money is there. It is a question of political will.” He pointed out that, last year, global spending on arms and the military rose to two trillions dollars, while worldwide spending on international development cooperation fell to 180 billion dollars. He said this is “unbelievable...unacceptable.”

The Director General’s intervention came during an event organized by the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) which deploys the expertise and broad convening power of five UN agencies – ILO, UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO and UNITAR. Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, also made welcoming remarks.

Müller said UNIDO stands ready to support a global green economic transformation based on serious debt relief for the world's poorest countries; investment in agriculture, sustainable energy and climate protection; a fair world trade system with fair supply chains; and decarbonization to decouple future growth from emissions.