In 2022, the world saw armed conflicts and threats of armed conflict, as well as energy shortages, food shortages, and natural disasters.

Multiple crises

AFP called 2022 a year of multiple crises in which climate change and natural disasters caused economic losses of 268 billion USD.

Natural disasters around the world have claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. An historic flood in Pakistan from June to September killed at least 1,600 people.

But the biggest loss of human life has been from armed conflicts, something caused by humans. The Russia-Ukraine conflict that began on February 24 has killed tens of thousands of people on both sides, including soldiers and civilians.

The conflict has led to a global food and energy crisis, pushing the world economy to the edge of recession, has changed the structure of international relations, and has heightened the confrontation between Russia and the West.

Smaller conflicts have occurred in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and the two Koreas, Japan, and the US have ramped up military activities.

In 2022 nuclear war has been mentioned repeatedly. Armed conflicts and economic insecurity have displaced 100 million people, nearly twice the 60 million people displaced in 2014.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (Photo: VNA)

Overcoming crises, creating a shared future

According to the 2023 Emergency Watchlist compiled by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), climate change has worsened humanitarian crises.

Professor of Macroeconomics Roel Beetsma at the University of Amsterdam warned that it is not an acute, but a long-term crisis, adding that if people don't act now, it will affect us on an unprecedented scale.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that Moscow will do its best to ensure the conflict ends as soon as possible through diplomatic solutions.

Many world leaders have called for an immediate diplomatic solution to end the conflict, restore the global supply chain of energy and food, and restore a peaceful environment for economic growth.

During a year-end press briefing on Monday at UN headquarters in New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for practical solutions to the world's problems and a determination to make 2023 a year of peace and a year of actions to create a better world.

"We can't accept things as they are.  We owe it to people to find solutions, to fight back and to act," Guterres said, stressing the need to promote peace, security, and the Sustainable Development Goals, while eliminating inequality, and reforming the international financial system to ensure the rights of all and build a "liveable" planet for future generations.