Carbis Bay (United Kingdom) (AFP)

Lack of ambition, empty words or warmed promises: NGOs sharply criticized Sunday the announcements of the industrialized countries of the G7, which pledged to vaccinate more and fight against climate change during their summit in the southwest of the 'England.

- "Moral bankruptcy" -

"The consequence of this dull summit will be to prolong a pandemic which will cost more lives and means of subsistence, not only in the world but also in the countries of the G7", estimated Tom Hart, an official of the NGO.

According to the WHO, at least 11 billion doses would be needed to be able to defeat the pandemic, much more than the billion promised by the G7 which also includes past commitments.

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined in the criticism, citing an "unforgivable moral bankruptcy" which could lead to "thousands" of deaths.

- What about patents?

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While it is committed to a more equitable distribution of vaccines in favor of poor countries, the G7 has not pronounced on the suspension of patents, which would allow mass production all over the world.

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"To really prepare for the next pandemic, you need a network of vaccine manufacturers around the world, funded and managed by the public authorities, free from the constraints of intellectual property," insisted Anna Marriott, head of policy. health at Oxfam.

- "Scratched record" on the climate -

On the climate, the G7 is like a "broken record", repeating the same promises, such as the end of public subsidies to coal-fired power stations abroad, denounced the director general of the association for the defense of the environment Greenpeace .

"Without an agreement to stop all new fossil fuel projects - what needs to be implemented this year to limit the dangerous rise in global temperature - this plan is not up to the task," added John Sauven.

The envelope proposed for poor countries "is neither new nor sufficient to respond to the scale of the climate crisis," he continued.

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More binding commitments are also needed to halt the decline in biodiversity by 2030, he said.

For Ruth Valerio, an official of the NGO Tearfund, the summit was translated by "empty words", without succeeding in concretely declining the end of aid to fossil fuels or launching the "green revolution which we so badly need".

"It could have been a springboard for successful climate negotiations in November," when the UK will host the UN climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow, she said.

"But without money, these promises (...) will not at all make it possible to reverse the trend of the climate emergency, which is already destroying millions of lives".

- "Partial plan"

In terms of climate and vaccination, "it is a partial plan, not a Marshall plan," said Patrick Watts, of Christian Aid.

He was referring to statements by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who, during the summit, promised to vaccinate the world with the aim of ending the pandemic.

The British press had attributed to him the intention of launching a climate Marshall plan, like the massive financing by the United States of the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War.

The G7 announced a vast investment plan, without quantifying it, in developing countries, in the areas of climate, health, security, digital technology or equality.

© 2021 AFP