Table of Contents
- 1 In an attempt to implement fiscal and climate measures in the midst of a complex international panorama, President Lula da Silva seeks to consolidate his international role during the meeting in Rio de Janeiro
- 2 Starmer to meet Xi Jinping at G20 for “pragmatic” talks
- 3 The UN asked to stop doing “theater” in the COP29 climate negotiations prior to the start of the G20
- 4 The G20 Summit begins with complaints from the Brazilian intelligence community
- 5 Amid diplomatic tensions at the G20 summit, the European Union considers authorizing Ukraine to use long-range weapons against Russia
- 6 Argentina will not sign the final G20 communiqué if the text fails to comply with Milei’s personal and ideological perspective
- 7 Brazil’s G20 on the brink of the abyss over Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine and Lula da Silva’s position against Israel
- 8 What strategies can be implemented to enhance accountability and reporting mechanisms for climate aid funding to ensure responsible usage in developing countries?
In an attempt to implement fiscal and climate measures in the midst of a complex international panorama, President Lula da Silva seeks to consolidate his international role during the meeting in Rio de Janeiro
Nov 18, 2024 05:36 am EST
The G20 leaders open a summit in Rio de Janeiro this Monday under pressure to reach an agreement at COP29, in a global context of strong divisions due to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the upcoming return of Donald Trump to the White House.
The leaders of the main economies, which represent 85% of global GDP and 80% of greenhouse gas emissions, will seek to advance in particular in financing the fight against climate change.
The goal is to figure out how to finance $1 trillion a year in climate aid for developing countries to build solar power plants, invest in irrigation, or protect cities from flooding.
The European Union is the world’s leading contributor, but in periods of austerity it is reluctant to increase its international budgets.
Below is the minute by minute of the most notable news from the G20 summit in Brazil:
Starmer to meet Xi Jinping at G20 for “pragmatic” talks
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold “pragmatic” meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Brazil, the first meeting between a UK head of government and the Chinese leader since 2018.
This meeting will be one of those that the Labor leader will hold at the Rio de Janeiro summit, in which issues of common interest such as the current conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are also expected to be addressed.
As confirmed by the Government in London in a statement, Starmer has committed to holding “pragmatic” talks with the Chinese leader “in the national interest of the United Kingdom” within the framework of the summit.
The UN asked to stop doing “theater” in the COP29 climate negotiations prior to the start of the G20
On Monday, the UN asked the delegates at the COP29 in Baku to stop playing “theater” and find an agreement for finances in the climate fight, although attention is focused on the boost that the G20 leaders meeting in Rio can give.
“Let’s stop playing the theater and get to the point,” declared the head of the UN climate agency, Simon Stiell, at the resumption of negotiations in the capital of Azerbaijan.
The Environment Ministers arrived in Baku on Monday to try to speed up the talks and avoid a fiasco at the end of the conference, scheduled for Friday, after a first week with almost no results, according to general opinion.
“This meeting reaches a critical moment: we are halfway through COP29 and the real difficulties begin,” warned the president of COP29, Azerbaijani Mukhtar Babayev.
The G20 Summit begins with complaints from the Brazilian intelligence community
Employees of the ABIN agency expressed their concern about the “dismantling” of the body, the lack of security at the meeting of world leaders and the growing Chinese influence in the country.
The president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, at the G20 Summit. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The G20, which just began today in Rio de Janeiro, begins with the alarming denunciation of Intelis, the Union of State Intelligence Professionals of ABIN, the Brazilian intelligence agency. In a statement published after last Wednesday’s attack in front of the Supreme Court building in Brasilia in which the attacker died, Intelis management denounces, among other things, a “low effective participation of the ABIN in the G20 due to budgetary limitations.” . This is due, say intelligence professionals, to the fact that a “dismantling” of their agency is underway, which “is currently experiencing an alarming scenario that increasingly complicates the mission of guaranteeing the security and sovereignty of Brazil.”
The leaders of the G20 nations begin to arrive at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, where the summit will be held this Monday and Tuesday.
The high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell (REUTERS/FILE)
The high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, expressed this Monday his expectation that the member countries will reach an agreement on the authorization for Ukraine to use European weapons in attacks against Russian territory.
“I have said time and again that Ukraine should be able to use the weapons that we provide it not only to stop the arrows but also to be able to hit the archers,” Borrell said before a meeting in Brussels with EU foreign ministers. . “I hope the Member States agree,” he added.
Along the same lines, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot indicated that the use of long-range missiles against Russia is an option that his government considers viable. “We have said that it is an option that we would consider if it allows attacks against targets from which Russia attacks the territory of Ukraine,” Barrot said.
Argentina will not sign the final G20 communiqué if the text fails to comply with Milei’s personal and ideological perspective
Argentine President Javier Milei will review each of the paragraphs of the latest draft of Brazil’s final G20 communiqué before signing at the bottom of the page. If the diplomatic text violates his personal and ideological perspective on the sustainable development agenda, climate change, the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East, he will not sign the G20 communiqué and there will be an unexpected crisis in the multilateral forum.
Milei has no intention of fracturing the G20 to deteriorate its institutional role on the global stage, as well-known spokespersons for Lula da Silva’s government have been suggesting for days.
On the contrary, the Argentine president considers that the G20 plays a role on the international board, but demands that Brazil not use the G20 agenda to strengthen its domestic policy to the detriment of the permanent interests of all the partners of the multilateral summit.
Brazil’s G20 on the brink of the abyss over Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine and Lula da Silva’s position against Israel
The deliberations of the summit of presidents begin this Monday in Rio de Janeiro, but the lack of an explicit condemnation of Moscow and the direct criticism of the State of Israel promoted by the Brazilian government make it difficult to approve a joint statement that reflects the unified position. of all the member countries of the multilateral forum
Lula da Silva and Vladimir Putin during their last official meeting in Moscow, (Russia)
(Special envoy to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Lula da Silva negotiates against the clock with the G7 – United States, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Japan – to find a way out of the crisis caused by his proposal for a final communiqué who was very soft on Russia and critical in extremis of Israel.
What strategies can be implemented to enhance accountability and reporting mechanisms for climate aid funding to ensure responsible usage in developing countries?
Questions for discussion on the topic of financing climate aid for developing countries:
1. How can developed nations ensure that the financial assistance provided for climate initiatives in developing countries is used effectively and transparently?
2. What role should multilateral institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund play in this regard?
3. Is it fair for developed nations to shoulder the brunt of the financial burden for climate aid, given their historical contribution to greenhouse gas emissions?
4. What alternative funding sources could be explored to finance climate initiatives, and how can rich nations encourage private investment in this space?
5. Should developing countries be expected to contribute financially to climate aid as well, and if so, how can they be incentivized to do so?
6. What impact will geopolitical tensions between major nations, such as the US-China rivalry, have on the international response to climate finance?
7. How can developing countries balance their need for climate aid with other pressing socio-economic priorities, such as poverty eradication and infrastructure development?
8. Is the current pace of climate finance sufficient to meet the goals outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement, and what steps can be taken to accelerate progress?
