(DIR) Home
Exclusive | Brazil, hosting G20 in November, seeks a 'simpler,
objective' final leaders' declaration
(HTM) Source
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He said Brasilia hoped to produce a` final document "that is much
simpler, more accessible and more direct … that does not have to be 30
pages long to show that good work has been done".
In particular, he said, a focus of local interest would be making it
easier for the world's biggest cities to gain access to a global fund
to help them adapt to climate change.
Traditionally, the G20 leaders' declarations usually average between
20 and 30 pages.
Padilha said that Brazil's goal was a final declaration more pragmatic
than previous G20 declarations, one that focused "more on the
problems" to be solved, an approach that would produce "a much more
directional and useful document for international relations than
statements that focus on non-consensual points".
Lucas Padilha, Rio de Janeiro's coordinator for G20 events this year.
Photo: Rio de Janeiro City Hall
Recognising the difficulties in reaching a consensus, he assessed that
the G20 remains essential given the "importance of a roundtable that
brings together the leaders of the global North, the major players of
the global South and countries in geopolitical conflict" - in
particular Russia, China and the United States.
Despite the great-power competitions, he added, the three nations
could still find ways to work together during the summit, ranging
"from climate issues, artificial intelligence and data regulation to
the space race and the occupation of the oceans".
"All global … issues cannot be addressed without having Russia, China,
the United States, and the other major players at the table," Padilha
said.
The 2023 leaders' summit hosted by India in New Delhi was fiercely
divided; difficulties in reaching a consensus on Russia's invasion of
Ukraine nearly prevented the joint declaration from being endorsed by
all member states. Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended, sending their foreign ministers
instead.
The final text was only adopted after avoiding direct criticism of
Russia. Citing "different views and assessments of the situation" it
concluded that "all states must refrain from the threat or use of
force to seek territorial acquisition".
In addition to disagreements over the armed conflict in Europe,
reported difficulties included advancing talks on the fight against
climate change. China, India, Russia and Brazil led a move by emerging
and developing countries to object to language that sought cutting
global emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 compared to 2019 levels and
phasing out all fossil fuels.
03:15
US, Russia praise G20 summit declaration as India meeting closes
without Putin and China's Xi
US, Russia praise G20 summit declaration as India meeting closes
without Putin and China's Xi
Padilha said he hoped for progress in this area and referred to the
work of the Sustainable Finance Working Group, one of the few G20
bodies co-chaired by the US and China.
The group, established in 2016 during China's G20 presidency, is to
begin meeting on Tuesday and is expected to work on solutions that
simplify and standardise rules for gaining access to climate funds
intended to help cities combat global warming.
"Today, around 60 per cent of cities worldwide do not have access to
international capital without the authorisation of their national
government, regardless of their creditworthiness," he noted.
"By setting up an international guarantee fund for cities, [the
working group] would enable access to adaptation funds and thus direct
investment where it is most needed."
In addition to Brazil, he said, "China and the United States have done
a remarkable job" in advancing discussions; both countries, he said,
had been "very receptive" in finding solutions to the problem.
Padilha also said that co-operation between the two powers was crucial
to building an "urban agenda for sustainable finance … one of the
pillars of the G20."
The Brazilian Ministry of Economy, which is leading discussions on the
topic, declined to comment on the meeting's themes, citing the need to
hear from other member states before discussing the results publicly.
Chengkai Xie of the Environment and Society Centre at Chatham House, a
policy group in London, said that the G20 sessions have the potential
to create a "more cooperative" atmosphere than bilateral talks between
China and the United States.
He said that the forum helps "both the US and China to articulate
their visions for global climate leadership, and any US-China joint
statement spurs wider global ambitions and places pressure on other
developed and emerging economies to bridge the gap between commitments
and action".
One recent demonstration of how US-China negotiations could advance
the agenda at multilateral climate forums, he said, was the meeting in
November in Sunnylands, California, between then-Chinese climate
negotiator Xie Zhenhua and US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry,
where they jointly declared their support for negotiations to
accelerate the energy transition.
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua,
China special envoy for climate, at the Cop28 UN Climate Summit on
December 13, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo: AP
Though both officials have since left those roles, Xie said the
current Chinese negotiator Su Wei cited the US-China Sunnylands
statement later "to enable the adoption of [the] final language of
'transitioning away from fossil fuels'" at Cop28, the United Nations
climate conference.
Even so, Xie noted that given the increasing political tensions
between China and the West, gaining the support of both countries on
key climate issues was far from assured.
"If a diplomatic incident like Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan" in 2022
could be avoided this year, the Rio de Janeiro agenda could provide
progress in coordinating China-US climate policy.
"The picture is not all rosy," Xie warned. "With the US presidential
election that might lead to a [Donald] Trump presidency, US-China
climate engagement could be at risk after November."
______________________________________________________________________
Served by Flask-Gopher/2.2.1