Urgent deadline: On the issues before the G-20
Poverty and climate change must be tackled urgently by G-20
Tackling global hunger and poverty and promoting climate justice were declared goals for the recent G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian President Lula Da Silva called poverty a “scourge that shames humanity”, asking the gathered nations to implement policies such as taxing the ‘super-rich’, using a 2% wealth tax on the world’s wealthiest to generate more than $200 billion in revenue. But the G-20 declaration fell short of that. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too underlined that the problems of the world are felt most acutely by the ‘Global South’, and, therefore, that the reins of global administration must belong to those that represent the larger majority in the world. The G-20 hosted by Brazil, was by the third host country of the Global South, after Indonesia in 2022 and India in 2023. The next G-20 is to be in South Africa. The Brazil summit was expected to focus on solutions for the poorer, emerging economies. However, its timing diluted the cause and diffused the focus, given the other issues the world confronts. This was the first G-20 summit since the October 7 attacks on Israel and its reprisals on Gaza and Lebanon. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had also made forging consensus at Bali and New Delhi already quite difficult. With deepening polarised narratives over both conflicts, the G-20 declaration was watered down, expressing only “deep concern” over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and dropping all reference to Russia while highlighting the “suffering... with regard to global food and energy security”. It was devoid of specifics on ending the conflicts.
The G-20 was also timed closely with the COP29 in Azerbaijan — Brazil will be in 2025 host — indicating that issues of climate financing and climate justice, which have been raised by the developing world, would find place in the G-20 declarations, and then feed into the COP process. However, the summit followed just after the U.S. presidential election results, casting its shadow. Given his moves during his first tenure, Donald Trump will not set much store by the aspirations of the Global South. Nor is he likely to expend the kind of resources expected from the U.S. towards tackling global warming or in curtailing the exploitation of fossil fuels. His cabinet has climate deniers and his own campaign slogan was “Drill, baby, drill”. Given the portents, the Global South, and the quartet of Indonesia-India-Brazil-South Africa, will have to ensure that the next G-20 is able to concretise the concerns of the developing world, and set out a path for the future on poverty and hunger, climate change and global governance. In 2026, as the G-20 will return to the U.S., the deadline is more urgent.