G20 member countries play a crucial role in international organisations by the collective size of their economies and combined political weight, both of which are needed to make the policies of international organisations as coherent as possible to reduce poverty in Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
In advance of the G20 Employment Working Group meeting over March 27-28, Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), calls upon Germany’s G20 Presidency to ‘chart a course for inclusive growth’ that benefits the lives of working people. Ms Burrow is a participant in The Labour 20 (L20), which represents the interests of workers at the G20 level. It unites trade unions from G20 countries and Global Unions and is convened by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD.
The Chairs of the Energy and Climate Task Forces of the Think20, together with Business20 and Civil20, published a Joint Statement to support a sustainable energy transition. On the occasion of the meeting of the G20 Energy and Climate Sustainability Working Groups on 22 and 23 March in Berlin, the Engagement Groups call on the G20 to step up and adopt three main provisions: First, the G20 should take the lead in implementing the Paris Agreement. Second, the G20 should drive towards carbon pricing mechanisms and agree on a time line for phasing-out fossil fuel subsidies. Third, the G20 should enable financial markets to deliver on sustainable development.
As the G20 Working Groups on Sustainability, Energy and Climate are preparing to meet later this week, it is well worth reminding ourselves of the importance of the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg for global energy governance. It is the first G20 summit since President Trump was elected on a pro-fossil fuels, climate-skeptic, and protectionist/nationalist agenda. It is also the first G20 summit since the Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, a legally binding agreement to keep global warming ‘well below 2°C’, ratified by all G20 members except Russia and Turkey.
Unlike the statement made by the G20 Finance Ministers last year, which asked members to resist “all forms” of trade protectionism, the communique released at this weekend’s G20 meeting in Baden Baden contains no such statement, nor does it refer to a commitment to a multilateral trading system. While there is no need to rush to any judgement, as we wait to see the final communique from the G20 leader’s summit in July this year, it may be useful to reflect on some of the lessons learnt about the role of free trade.