Para 2: "An estimated 120 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty in the past three years...".
Main reason for this -- as pointed out by experts like Stanford epidemiologist professor Jay Bhattarachaya -- is NOT Covid, but the *anti-Covid policies*, like lockdowns, school closures, etc, all of which were put in place by geniuses like those that signed this letter, and that crushed livelihoods of the poor the most.
I'd believe you more, dear leaders, if you had a better track record.
ADDED: no one seems to be taking any notice of this letter. There are no comments at the SCMP, but mine. And when I Google the letter I can't find it. Plenty of letters TO world leaders. None, like this one, FROM world leaders. Still, shouldn’t we expect a bit more interest in something signed by Biden, Sunak, Modi et.al.? Maybe it shows the lack on interest in the political class. Our loss of any respect for them.
The focus of the letter is all in “just” climate change policies. Which seems to amount to forgiving debt and finding new money to give to third world dictators. Nothing about what might be “just” for poor countries, like what we in the west did: use fossil fuels to drive growth. With growth comes education, better infrastructure, better conditions for women and children, and so on. And better ability to fight climate change. But, you know, “climate justice”.
