While those are the primary problems to solve, some doubt the splashy summit led by French President Emmanuel Macron will be able to take major strides to correct those challenges.
Masood Ahmed, president of the Center for Global Development think tank in Washington, isn’t expecting much concrete action from the gathering but a broad agreement that “we’ve got to think much bigger, much bolder. We need to be willing to change.” Organizers say the summit will end with a summary of commitments, including a road map for what to expect from this year’s meeting of the Group of 20 major economies and UN climate conference.
Earlier this year, the World Bank announced that it would increase its lending by $50-billion over the next 10 years to combat extreme poverty and mitigate and adapt to climate change.