©WTO, altered, https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/photo_gallery_e/photo_gallery_e.htm
The current debate on the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement could be very consequential for the World Trade Organization (WTO) although it is not part of the official calendar of next week’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi. …
By Nimrod Oren on Pixabay
Club governance formats such as the G20 and G7 have an important role to play in raising the level of ambition to effectively combat climate change and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This was the key message that came out of a virtual expert conference organised by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) in cooperation with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Europe (SDSN Europe). The conference brought together key experts and policy makers from G7 and G20 countries, assessed the outcomes of the G7 Carbis Bay summit and looked ahead not only to the upcoming G20 summit in Rome but also the G7 and G20 presidencies in 2022 chaired by Germany and Indonesia respectively.
© Pixabay
On 26 September, Germany’s population votes for a new Parliament and, in extension, for a new government. The stakes are high as Angela Merkel, after 16 years in office, will not run again paving the way for a new Chancellor and potentially new approaches to external affairs.
…
Think tanks have become a noticeable actor in the G20 process. This is a result of the changing nature of the G20 itself, which evolved from a crisis committee into a network focal point. In this process, it has become more inclusive vis-à-vis transnational networks of societal actors such as business, civil-society, women’s organisations, and labour unions. Complex realities need different perspectives – and they also need analysis and research-based recommendations, which is the task of think tanks.
…
By ASchrumm – CIGI Communications Dept, CC BY-SA 3.0
A decade ago the world was struggling with the repercussions of the global financial crisis in 2007 and 2008 that emerged in the interconnected transatlantic financial system. At this critical moment in time, the G20 was elevated from a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors to the level of heads of states and government. By including a number of rising as well as middle powers non G7 countries the first G20 summit in Washington in November 2008 made clear that current cross-border challenges cannot anymore be dealt with by the old powers of the traditional establishment. At the subsequent summits in London (April 2009) and Pittsburgh (September 2009) the G20 displayed an astonishing level of international cooperation by agreeing on wide-ranging commitments that helped to calm down international financial markets and strengthen the crisis response of international financial institutions. These early initiatives led some optimistic observers to conclude that the system worked.
…