Over the past weekend in Rome Italy, the annual G 20 summit met for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. What is the G 20 Summit and what is its objective? This annual international meeting has been a global conference since its founding in 1999. The purpose of the summit is to tackle issues with foreign policies as well as global economics. The name “G 20” stands for the phrase “group of 20.” The meeting is composed of the world’s 19 highest grossing countries and the EU. The countries that make up G 20 are the highest grossing countries in world and make around 90% of the world’s GWP (Gross World Product).
This conference has become a vital push for global politics to focus on worldwide issues outside of policy making. The importance of the G 20 Summit comes into play when countries are faced with international humanitarian issues as well as financial crises. However, the G 20 Summit is not beloved by the entire world by any means. Every year the summit is protested by the countries that are not offered a seat at the table. These anti-globalization groups find the limited membership offensive and discriminatory. Even with pushback from groups of this kind, the summit continues to meet year after year. In Rome this year, world leaders discussed and made plans to handle some of the largest topics of debate in our current society, the two most important being global warming and Covid-19.
The first, and most popular subject matter from the weekend’s analysis involved global warming. After the weekend of debates, world leaders landed on what they thought to be the most reasonable option: The Paris Agreement. The goals of this agreement cover both global warming as well as carbon emission issues worldwide. The pledge made by signing this agreement is an intentional goal to work towards limiting global warming as a whole to 1.5º C (34.7º F) above pre-industrial records. In terms of carbon emissions, the agreement’s goal is to lower the net carbon emissions to zero by 2050. The statement also makes an order to withdraw funding to new coal plants that are developed overseas by the start of 2022. Although climate reform and global warming urgency have been conversations for years now at the summit, the media has presented that the emotional response from various world leaders holds a promising inclination that these new plans will be carried out.
Covid-19 regulation and vaccination processes were the next and most obvious topics on the table. As the world slowly but surely adapts to the new mandates and rules surrounding the pandemic, the leaders at the G 20 summit debated on a realistic compromise for the upcoming progression of management. Speakers at the summit promised to support the World Health Organization’s goal of having around 40% of the world’s population fully vaccinated by the beginning of 2022, and around 70% by the summer of 2022.While the jump between percentages is large, world leaders deemed it possible and seemed confident in their assurances. The way that they plan to go about these new numbers is by increasing the availability of vaccines to people within developing countries and by eliminating tight supply and financial restraints on the distribution of it. The final agreement involving the Covid-19 vaccine was to make one final push on approving more of a variety of vaccines to engage more countries in the production of it in terms of global economics, as well as to further distribute it.
The G 20 Summit is a tradition that will continue on into the foreseen future. The world can only hope that included leaders make decisions that are best for the entire population.