Global inequality is a critical emergency that undermines democracy, the economy, and efforts to combat the climate crisis, according to the report of a task force set up by the Group of 20 (G20).
In a report commissioned by current G20 chair South Africa, the Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality highlights the growing disparity between the wealthiest individuals and the poorest half of the global population.
Between 2000 and 2024, the richest 1% captured 41% of all new wealth, while just 1% of the new wealth trickled down to the poorest 50%, notes the committee, led by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
The report also flags rising concern over the concentration of wealth enabling state capture, where private interests exert undue influence over democratic institutions through systematic political corruption.
Committee head Stiglitz cautions world leaders to take inequality as seriously as the climate crisis.
“The available evidence on inequality should alarm leaders everywhere,” he said. “The world understands we have a climate crisis; it’s time we also acknowledged the inequality crisis.
According to Stiglitz, the inequality crisis is not just unfair, it undermines social cohesion, economies, and politics.
The committee strongly believes that some of the worst effects of inequality directly affect democracy, he added.
The taskforce has proposed the creation of an International Panel on Inequality (IPI), modelled after the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPI would monitor inequality trends, analyse its causes and impacts, and assess potential policy solutions to address the issue.
The G20 comprises 19 countries, the EU and the African Union. It seeks to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
This year's G20 summit is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg on 22-23 November, after which South Africa will hand over the presidency of the intergovernmental forum to the United States on 1 December.
