Blog Series: What remains of the G20 Hamburg Summit?
Today people ask what the G20 is for. The answer is far from straightforward. With no written mandate, the G20’s value is in whatever it does. But to many, G20 action now seems arcane or ineffective, not worth the effort of large scale summitry. In this blog I attempt to show that the G20 has made and still can make a difference. It offers some guesses as to why doubts persist. And it gives a perspective of how the G20 might evolve.
Only six weeks went by between the Taormina G7 and Hamburg G20 meetings, which were both chaired by a major EU Member State. A substantive link between the two summits was therefore to be expected. Indeed, at least to some extent, a useful connection was set in motion. The results of these two events seem to suggest an informal – but organic – relation between the diplomatic and cooperative efforts of the much narrower and more homogeneous G7 with the G20 summit.
Unter der diesjährigen G20-Präsidentschaft Deutschlands stand das Thema globale Gesundheit prominent auf der Agenda und erstmals trafen sich im Vorfeld die Gesundheitsminister der beteiligten Staaten. Die Entwicklungen und Ergebnisse des G20-Gipfels weisen in die richtige Richtung, doch angesichts der großen Herausforderungen bei der globalen Gesundheit muss das Thema weiterhin besondere Aufmerksamkeit erhalten und es müssen konkreten Zusagen gemacht werden.
The result of this year’s G20 summit was not a major step forward in solving the climate problem. However, the confrontation with President Trump ended not in a full clash, but rather in a diplomatic climate dance – taking one step back, one step to the side, and one step forward. This presents an opportunity to continue with a climate tango from a new starting point in Argentina in 2018.
One major goal of the German G20 Presidency was to promote the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are essential to addressing the challenges faced by the world. The outcome of the 2017 Hamburg Summit is not a breakthrough for sustainable development, but it does offer some opportunities for real progress.
