G 20 Summit 2017

• The two-day G-20 summit 2017 was held in Hamburg, Germany.

Highlights of the summit:

• There was no consensus with the USA regarding climate protection: a dissent with communalities in the deployment of renewable energy was formulated. The other 19 participants agreed to stick with the Paris agreement, to view it as irreversible and to swiftly put it into practice
• The G20 final communique placed a new emphasis on the need for trade deals to be reciprocal and non-discriminatory towards developing countries, reducing the previous emphasis on the primacy of liberalization and the promotion of free market economics across the board
• All countries agreed to continue regulating financial markets and to combat financing terrorism and tax evasion.
• The leaders pledged to progress towards their joint objective in the G20, which is strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. They resolved to tackle common challenges to the global community, including terrorism, displacement, poverty, hunger and health threats, job creation, climate change, energy security, and inequality including gender inequality, as a basis for sustainable development and stability.
• In order to improving sustainable livelihoods, the G-20 leaders collectively committed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions through, among others, increased innovation on sustainable and clean energies and energy efficiency, and work towards low greenhouse-gas emission energy systems.
• The G-20 leaders also called for safeguarding against health crises and strengthening health systems. The leaders called on the United Nations to keep global health high on the political agenda and strive for cooperative action to strengthen health systems worldwide, including through developing the health workforce.
• The leaders also stressed on combatting Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR), which is a growing threat to public health and economic growth.

About G 20:

• The Group of Twenty (G20) is an international forum that brings together the world's 20 leading industrialised and emerging economies. The group accounts for 85 per cent of world GDP and two-thirds of its population.
• Initially attendance at G20 summits was limited to the finance ministers and central bank governors of members when it was established 17 years ago.
• But since an inaugural meeting between G20 leaders in Washington DC following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, summits between G20 leaders themselves have become an annual event.
• The first G20 summit occurred in Berlin, in December 1999, and was hosted by the German and Canadian finance ministers.
• Since then there have been 20 G20 meetings between finance ministers and central bank governors, and 11 summits between heads of state or government of G20 economies.

By: Vishal