The leaders of the world’s 20 most powerful economies are meeting in Rome on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October for a G20 summit, under the Italian Presidency, which will once again focus on the post-pandemic economic recovery and the climate issue, this time with the imminence of COP26 in Glasgow, which begins on Sunday.
On Friday, a meeting of G20 Finance and Health Ministers was held in Rome, and negotiations continued on the draft final declaration that will record the outcome of the discussions on the economy and global health (Saturday) and those on climate change and the environment and sustainable development (Sunday).
Global economy and global health
Securing new donation pledges of Covid-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries through Covax in the short term to vaccinate 70% of the world’s population by mid-2022 is a priority for the EU, which will be represented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.
“We fully support this goal”, which the G20 should commit to, Mrs von der Leyen said on Thursday (see EUROPE 12791/1).
In the longer term, it is the production of vaccines in developing countries that needs to be supported, she stressed, recalling that the EU has invested one billion euros for this purpose, with the aim of “bringing mRNA technology to the African continent”.
The EU also hopes that the G20 can agree on strengthening the World Health Organization (WHO), building on the outcome of the Global Health Summit (see EUROPE 12819/20, 12687/8).
Mrs von der Leyen spoke of “a strong WHO to better prepare the world, prepare a structural response and bridge the gap between finance and health and adequate funding”.
But it is not a foregone conclusion. The issue of a Health and Financing Board and an Intermediary Fund for financing preparedness are controversial.
The negotiation of an International Treaty on Pandemics, which the EU and WHO are calling for as a future global framework for pandemic preparedness, will be addressed and should be included in the final declaration.
With regard to economic recovery, a discussion is planned on the need to do more to ensure that supply chains keep pace with demand.
Soaring energy prices will also be discussed, which could threaten the economic recovery. The subject is delicate in view of the divergent interests of supplier countries (Saudi Arabia, Russia) and consumer countries (Europe, China, the United States, India), which are concerned. It could be mentioned in the final declaration, although it is not possible to know in what detail.
The G20 summit is expected to endorse the 15% global minimum tax on multinationals following the agreement on international tax reform at the OECD (see EUROPE 12808/2). The EU is ready to implement it, said Mrs von der Leyen.
In addition, the leaders will discuss the debt of poor countries. They will address the issue of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to support global recovery, bearing in mind that the IMF’s general allocation of 650 billion in SDR may help the least developed countries, but will not be enough (only 3.2% of the amount went to low-income countries, while the G7 countries received 43.5%).
The EU is pursuing the target of 100 billion in SDR reallocated on a voluntary basis to Africa (see EUROPE 12740/9).
According to the latest World Bank figures, the outstanding debt of low-income countries jumped by 12% in 2020. Poor countries are transferring an increasing share of their tax revenues to creditors to service their debts - a situation that is likely to worsen with the expiry of the G20 debt service suspension initiative at the end of 2021. And in one year, no country has yet received debt relief.
“The absence of effective multilateral institutions for debt crisis resolution is a huge gap in the international financial architecture, and the G20 has a responsibility to help fill that gap”, said Bodo Ellmers, Director of Global Policy Forum’s (GPF) Financing for Sustainable Development Programme, in a statement on Friday.
Climate
For COP26, the EU expects the G20 to provide the impetus for an increase in ambition, particularly in terms of financing the pledge of 100 billion US dollars per year collectively since COP15 to developing countries by 2020 and until 2025 to support their mitigation and adaptation efforts (see EUROPE 12822/9). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)