All posts tagged: G20

World Bank official calls for shake-up of G20 debt relief scheme | World Bank

World Bank official calls for shake-up of G20 debt relief scheme | World Bank

Published by skeptic

The mechanism for providing debt relief to the world’s poorest countries is failing to produce results and requires a major rethink, a senior official at the World Bank has said. Indermit Gill, the bank’s chief economist, said that after four years the G20’s common framework – designed to speed up and simplify debt restructuring – had not provided a single dollar of new money. More than half the 75 countries deemed poor enough to be eligible for concessional finance from the World Bank are either in distress or close to it, and Gill said cripplingly high repayments were entrenching poverty. Interviewed by the Guardian at the bank’s spring meetings in Washington, Gill said: “We have to recognise the problems. The common framework won’t deliver what leaders say it will. They are saying: ‘This horse is not dead yet, so let’s just keep whipping it.’” He said a key weakness of the common framework was that private bondholders – an increasingly important group of creditors – were only brought in at the end of debt negotiations. …

At last G20 is showing how to finance an assault on poverty | Larry Elliott

At last G20 is showing how to finance an assault on poverty | Larry Elliott

Published by skeptic

All things considered, the world’s richest countries have emerged from the global pandemic in better shape than they could have imagined when Covid-19 first appeared just over four years ago. To be sure, the impact of lockdown and its aftermath has been painful, but the effects on poor countries have been far more severe. Rich countries were able to rack up budget deficits to pay for furloughs and prevent mass unemployment. Rich countries could print money through quantitative easing schemes without the risk that the financial markets would punish them. Rich-country governments could subsidise energy bills after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Poor countries could do none of these things. In 2015, the international community set itself targets – the sustainable development goals (SDGs) – to be hit by 2030. The first two goals were the elimination of extreme poverty and achieving a world with zero hunger. On current trends, both are going to be spectacularly missed. About 600 million people will be living under the extreme poverty threshold of $2.15 a day – twice the …

U.S. isolated at G20 as Gaza crisis worsens

U.S. isolated at G20 as Gaza crisis worsens

Published by Sam

RIO DE JANEIRO — The U.S. opposition to an immediate cease-fire in Gaza came under repeated criticism during a two-day meeting of the chief diplomats of the world’s 20 largest economies in the latest sign of Washington’s isolation on the issue. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, the host of this year’s annual Group of 20 gathering, began the meeting by decrying the “paralysis” at the United Nations Security Council, where Washington vetoed a third resolution for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza earlier in the week. “This state of inaction results in the loss of innocent lives,” Vieira said. The top diplomats at the gathering, which included Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, offered their views on various geopolitical issues in a session that was closed to the media so officials could express themselves more candidly. But by mistake, a small group of journalists, including from The Washington Post, were able to listen in on the session because the audio headsets continued broadcasting the remarks, unbeknownst to the Brazilian hosts. Australia, …

EU sees G20 consensus on two-state solution for Israel-Palestinian conflict

EU sees G20 consensus on two-state solution for Israel-Palestinian conflict

Published by skeptic

RIO DE JANEIRO: Foreign ministers at the G20 group of nations meeting in Brazil were of one opinion on the need for a two-state solution as the only path to peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday (Feb 22). “Everybody here, everybody. I haven’t heard anyone against it. There was a strong request for a two-state solution,” he told reporters. “It is consensus among us,” he added. Borrell’s view was supported by other delegates who said every speaker who addressed the war in Gaza called for a two-state solution. “There is a common denominator: there is not going to be peace … not going to be sustainable security for Israel unless the Palestinians have a clear political prospect to build their own state,” said Borrell, the EU minister for foreign affairs. He said the crisis in Gaza extends to the West Bank, which is “absolutely boiling” as Israeli settlers are “attacking Palestinian civilians”. Borrell said he had asked G20 host country Brazil to “explain to the world that …

Blinken and Lavrov to attend G20 talks with Ukraine, Gaza on the agenda

Blinken and Lavrov to attend G20 talks with Ukraine, Gaza on the agenda

Published by Sam

G20 foreign ministers open a two-day meeting Wednesday in Brazil, with the outlook bleak for progress on a thorny agenda of conflicts and crises, from the Gaza and Ukraine wars to growing polarization. Issued on: 21/02/2024 – 02:33Modified: 21/02/2024 – 02:31 3 min US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are both expected in Rio de Janeiro for the first high-level G20 meeting of the year — though not China’s Wang Yi. In a world torn by conflicts and divisions, Brazil, which took over the rotating G20 presidency from India in December, has voiced hopes for what President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva calls “the forum with the greatest capacity to positively influence the international agenda.” But Lula’s bid to make the G20 a space for finding common ground suffered Sunday when the veteran leftist ignited a diplomatic firestorm by accusing Israel of “genocide,” comparing its military campaign in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust. The comments drew outrage in Israel, which declared him “persona non grata,” and could overshadow …

Visualised: how all of G20 is missing climate goals — but some nations are closer than others | Greenhouse gas emissions

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Not a single G20 country has policies in place that are consistent with the Paris agreement’s goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C and meeting their “fair share” of emissions reduction. The assessment, based on data up to 5 December provided by the Climate Action Tracker, comes as leaders gather in Dubai for the Cop28 conference. It assesses each country against its “fair share” contribution to the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account considerations such as the historical emissions of higher-income countries, which may increase their responsibility to take action. It also considers issues such as economic capability and welfare cost. Eight G20 countries rated ‘critically insufficient’ Eight G20 countries – Argentina, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, Canada, Mexico and Indonesia – would all be rated as “critically insufficient” when accounting exclusively for their fair share of contributions. This means their climate policies and commitments reflect minimal to no action, and would lead to warming of 4C (7.2F) above pre-industrial levels over this century. Line charts showing the projected emissions of …

why the G20 refused to condemn Russian aggression – and how that might change

why the G20 refused to condemn Russian aggression – and how that might change

Published by skeptic

The recent G20 summit in India concluded with a statement on Russia’s war in Ukraine that differs in a number of subtle but highly significant ways from the declaration made by world leaders at the end of the 2022 summit in Bali. At first glance, the New Delhi statement appears to offer support for Kyiv. It explicitly upholds the principles of sovereignty and opposes the threat or use of force to gain territory. It describes the use of nuclear weapons or threats to use them as “inadmissible”. It acknowledges the human suffering caused by the war. It also calls for the resumption of the Black Sea Initiative to ensure the export of grain, fertilisers and other vital agricultural products to markets around the world. But there is a curious absence at the heart of these passages: actions are condemned but no responsibility is assigned for them. In sharp contrast to the wording of the 2022 G20 communique, there is no reference to Russia as the aggressor that started this war and whose troops continue their …

Russia-Ukraine war live: Russian drones attack Kyiv; Moscow praises G20 declaration | Ukraine

Published by Sam

Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature More now on that latest Russian air attack on Kyiv early on Sunday. Ukraine’s land forces said air defence systems destroyed 25 out of 32 Russian-launched Iran-made Shahed drones, most of which targeted Kyiv and the surrounding region. Reuters witnesses heard at least five blasts across Kyiv, and Ukrainian media footage showed a number of cars damaged. “Drones came onto the capital in groups and from different directions,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration, said on Telegram. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said one person was injured in the historic Podil neighbourhood and a fire broke out near one of the city’s parks. Debris from downed drones fell on the Darnytskyi, Solomianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Podil districts, Klitschko and the city’s military administration said. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Moscow has been conducting near-nightly assaults on Ukraine’s territory. A Russian attack killed 17 people on Wednesday in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, according to Ukrainian officials. Opening summary …

The Observer view: Modi boosted his image, but the G20 summit looks set to achieve little else | Observer editorial

Published by Sam

What is the point of the G20, the group of 19 countries plus the EU, whose annual summit is being held in Delhi? It’s a question that gets harder to answer with each passing year. As ever, there was no shortage of global problems to discuss: food security, debt relief, the climate crisis, disease, banking reforms and digital infrastructure, to name a few. The difficulty was the apparent chronic lack of agreed, substantive and credible action to tackle them. One explanation is that the G20 is a disparate group whose membership is based on relative economic heft rather than, say, shared ideas, beliefs or experience. When discussing endemic hunger, for example, it’s possible Ethiopia (not a member) has a deeper understanding of the issues than Canada (a member). A lack of tangible outcomes and follow-through is linked to the fact the G20 has no permanent secretariat. It is, in effect, the sum of its summits, which too often turn into interesting but ineffectual talking shops. Summit hosts tend to hijack these one-off occasions to showcase …