Highlights
- G20 leaders emphasize the humanitarian crises in Gaza and Ukraine.
- Joint statement calls for unified action on climate change and sustainable development.
- Rio summit showcases global geopolitical tensions amid Trump’s return to the political stage.
- China’s President Xi Jinping plays a pivotal role, pledging increased support for the “Global South.”
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies issued a joint statement on Monday, emphasizing the suffering caused by conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. They also urged cooperation on climate change, poverty reduction, and tax policy.
Meeting at Rio de Janeiro’s Modern Art Museum for a two-day summit, G20 leaders addressed an agenda reflecting the evolving global order. They worked to strengthen multilateral consensus before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January. Discussions on trade, climate change, and international security faced looming U.S. policy shifts, including Trump’s pledges on tariffs and a negotiated solution to the war in Ukraine.
Despite challenges, summit leaders reached a narrow consensus on the escalating war in Ukraine, focusing on “human suffering” and its economic repercussions. Their statement also expressed “deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” calling urgently for increased aid, civilian protection, and a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
After a massive Russian airstrike in Ukraine on Sunday, European diplomats pushed to revise the language on global conflicts. However, they ultimately stepped back. Russian President Vladimir Putin skipped the summit, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov represented Moscow.
Diplomats finalized the joint statement after marathon negotiations over the weekend, with climate policy debates continuing into the early hours of Sunday, according to those involved.
Leaders agreed that the world must finalize a new financial goal for how much funding wealthy nations should provide to developing countries by the end of the United Nations COP29 climate change summit in Azerbaijan. COP29 officials had urged G20 leaders to signal strong support for resolving the impasse on climate finance. While the statement highlighted the urgency, it stopped short of specifying solutions ahead of the U.N. summit’s conclusion on Friday.
As host, Brazil expanded the G20’s focus to include extreme poverty, hunger, and fair taxation of the world’s wealthiest—issues prominently featured in the leaders’ joint statement.
LULA RAILS AGAINST HUNGER
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched a global alliance to combat poverty and hunger on Monday, opening the G20 summit with support from more than 80 countries, multilateral banks, and major philanthropies.
“Hunger and poverty are not the result of scarcity or natural phenomena … they are the product of political decisions,” said Lula, who rose from poverty to politics as a metalworkers union organizer. “In a world that produces almost six billion tons of food per year, this is unacceptable,” he added.
Brazilian officials acknowledged that their broader G20 agenda—focused on sustainable development and taxing the super-rich—might lose momentum once Trump begins setting global priorities from the White House.
Nevertheless, world leaders credited Brazil’s agenda, which 2025 host South Africa plans to continue, for steering debate beyond the traditional focus of Western powers. “We are experiencing a major, major change in global structures,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on the sidelines of the summit, pointing to the increasing influence of major developing economies. “These are countries that want to have their say. And they will no longer accept that everything will continue to be the way it has been for decades.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping used the summit to unveil measures supporting developing economies in the “Global South,” including scientific partnerships with Brazil and African nations and reduced trade barriers for least developed countries.
While Xi actively shaped discussions at the summit, U.S. President Joe Biden arrived with limited influence as his term nears its end. With just two months left in office, Biden faced mounting challenges from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
As the world awaits signals from Trump’s incoming administration, Xi promoted China’s economic rise, emphasizing the Belt and Road Initiative, which recently inaugurated a massive deep-water port in Peru.
Although Brazil has declined to join China’s infrastructure initiative, officials remain optimistic about potential industrial partnerships. Xi’s stay in Brazil will culminate in a state visit to Brasilia on Wednesday, raising expectations for deeper bilateral cooperation.
