Mixed reception for G7 summit’s pledges

Jun 14, 2021 by Jill

by Joe Ware, Church Times:

REACTIONS to the G7 summit, which drew to a close on Sunday, have been mixed. Christian organisations were highly critical of the outcome, considering the promises made by the Prime Minister to tackle the pandemic and climate change.

The meeting, held in Cornwall this weekend, concluded with a promise to deliver a billion vaccines by the end of the year, either by donating surplus doses, or through extra funding to the UN COVAX scheme, which distributes vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

The Archbishop of Canterbury tweeted on Sunday: “Building a fairer world — that truly reflects Jesus’ teaching to love our neighbour — is possible. This shows it can be done. There’s much more to do to ensure everyone is safe from Covid-19, but we must welcome this important step towards vaccine equity.”

Gareth Iwan JonesThe Bishop of St Germans, in Truro diocese, the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, takes part in a vigil in Falmouth connected with the G7 summit

The former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has been campaigning on the issue for months, said, however, that the G7 summit would be remembered as an “unforgivable moral failure” when “every three months Covid-19 is destroying one million lives.” He wrote in The Guardian: “Long after this weekend summit is over and the handshakes, photocalls and communiqués fade from memory, it will be remembered only for failing to honour Boris Johnson’s pre-summit promise to vaccinate the entire world.”

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Read also: The G7 and the arrogance of Covid theatre by Fraser Myers, spiked

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