Handover of the Think7 recommendations for action to Chancellor Scholz

On 25 May 2022, Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge (DIE) and Prof. Dr. Dennis Snower (Global Solutions Initiative), as co-chairs of the Think7 process, handed over a communiqué with key policy recommendations for the G7 to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and discussed them with him and the Task Force chairs present. The communiqué summarises around 70 policy briefs and 5 issue papers of the Think7 Task Forces, which have been prepared by more than 300 researchers since January 2022 and contain policy recommendations for the G7 Summit at Schloss Elmau.

In their communiqué, the Think7 recommend that the G7 should work closely with the G20 countries to strengthen multilateral institutions, counter a relapse into a polarised world order and work towards an end to the war in Ukraine. In addition, the G7 should develop common standards for measuring human well-being that take into account not only economic criteria but also the state of the environment and social cohesion. In their third core recommendation, the co-chairs propose that the G7 adopt targeted, horizontal approaches to global challenges, overcoming silo thinking and closely involving civil society in decision-making processes.

In an open discussion with Chancellor Scholz, the co-chairs of the Think7 Task Forces, representatives of Indonesian and Indian think tanks (Indonesia holds the G20 presidency this year, India next year) and partners discussed further recommendations for action for the G7. They debated the need to establish an open climate club, to fight the current pandemic and prevent the next one, to prevent a food and debt crisis, and to step up efforts to achieve the global sustainability goals. The necessary support to Ukraine to counter Russian aggression should be accompanied by measures to mitigate the short-term effects of war in many regions of the world and promote long-term sustainability.