Brazil, hosting G20 in November, seeks a 'simpler, objective' final leaders' declaration

Brazil, host of this year's Group of 20 meetings, hopes to reach a much simpler consensus when the leaders of member nations convene in Rio de Janeiro in November, in a bid to avoid a breakdown in talks due to disagreements among great powers.

With less than five months to go, increasing tensions - particularly between Washington and its closest allies on one side and Beijing and Moscow on the other - threaten to bog down the annual meeting of nations that collectively account for more than 85 per cent of global economic output.

Lucas Padilha, Rio de Janeiro's chief of staff and the city's coordinator for the summit, said that Brazil's aim was to create a G20 declaration "certainly structured differently than in previous years" by inviting organisations representing environmental and other civic interests to discuss pressing issues with the "sherpas", as each country's negotiators are called.

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He said Brasilia hoped to produce a` final document "that is much simpler, more accessible and more direct ... that does not have to be 30 pages long to show that good work has been done".

In particular, he said, a focus of local interest would be making it easier for the world's biggest cities to gain access to a global fund to help them adapt to climate change.

Traditionally, the G20 leaders' declarations usually average between 20 and 30 pages.

Padilha said that Brazil's goal was a final declaration more pragmatic than previous G20 declarations, one that focused "more on the problems" to be solved, an approach that would produce "a much more directional and useful document for international relations than statements that focus on non-consensual points".

Lucas Padilha, Rio de Janeiro's coordinator for G20 events this year. Photo: Rio de Janeiro City Hall alt=Lucas Padilha, Rio de Janeiro's coordinator for G20 events this year. Photo: Rio de Janeiro City Hall>

Recognising the difficulties in reaching a consensus, he assessed that the G20 remains essential given the "importance of a roundtable that brings together the leaders of the global North, the major players of the global South and countries in geopolitical conflict" - in particular Russia, China and the United States.

Despite the great-power competitions, he added, the three nations could still find ways to work together during the summit, ranging "from climate issues, artificial intelligence and data regulation to the space race and the occupation of the oceans".

"All global ... issues cannot be addressed without having Russia, China, the United States, and the other major players at the table," Padilha said.

The 2023 leaders' summit hosted by India in New Delhi was fiercely divided; difficulties in reaching a consensus on Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly prevented the joint declaration from being endorsed by all member states. Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Chinese President Xi Jinping attended, sending their foreign ministers instead.

The final text was only adopted after avoiding direct criticism of Russia. Citing "different views and assessments of the situation" it concluded that "all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition".

In addition to disagreements over the armed conflict in Europe, reported difficulties included advancing talks on the fight against climate change. China, India, Russia and Brazil led a move by emerging and developing countries to object to language that sought cutting global emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 compared to 2019 levels and phasing out all fossil fuels.

Padilha said he hoped for progress in this area and referred to the work of the Sustainable Finance Working Group, one of the few G20 bodies co-chaired by the US and China.

The group, established in 2016 during China's G20 presidency, is to begin meeting on Tuesday and is expected to work on solutions that simplify and standardise rules for gaining access to climate funds intended to help cities combat global warming.

"Today, around 60 per cent of cities worldwide do not have access to international capital without the authorisation of their national government, regardless of their creditworthiness," he noted.

"By setting up an international guarantee fund for cities, [the working group] would enable access to adaptation funds and thus direct investment where it is most needed."

In addition to Brazil, he said, "China and the United States have done a remarkable job" in advancing discussions; both countries, he said, had been "very receptive" in finding solutions to the problem.

Padilha also said that co-operation between the two powers was crucial to building an "urban agenda for sustainable finance ... one of the pillars of the G20."

The Brazilian Ministry of Economy, which is leading discussions on the topic, declined to comment on the meeting's themes, citing the need to hear from other member states before discussing the results publicly.

Chengkai Xie of the Environment and Society Centre at Chatham House, a policy group in London, said that the G20 sessions have the potential to create a "more cooperative" atmosphere than bilateral talks between China and the United States.

He said that the forum helps "both the US and China to articulate their visions for global climate leadership, and any US-China joint statement spurs wider global ambitions and places pressure on other developed and emerging economies to bridge the gap between commitments and action".

One recent demonstration of how US-China negotiations could advance the agenda at multilateral climate forums, he said, was the meeting in November in Sunnylands, California, between then-Chinese climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua and US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry, where they jointly declared their support for negotiations to accelerate the energy transition.

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, China special envoy for climate, at the Cop28 UN Climate Summit on December 13, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo: AP alt=US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, China special envoy for climate, at the Cop28 UN Climate Summit on December 13, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo: AP>

Though both officials have since left those roles, Xie said the current Chinese negotiator Su Wei cited the US-China Sunnylands statement later "to enable the adoption of [the] final language of 'transitioning away from fossil fuels'" at Cop28, the United Nations climate conference.

Even so, Xie noted that given the increasing political tensions between China and the West, gaining the support of both countries on key climate issues was far from assured.

"If a diplomatic incident like Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan" in 2022 could be avoided this year, the Rio de Janeiro agenda could provide progress in coordinating China-US climate policy.

"The picture is not all rosy," Xie warned. "With the US presidential election that might lead to a [Donald] Trump presidency, US-China climate engagement could be at risk after November."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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