The grand annual event of the G20 summit where the most influential world leaders meet finally came to India. Delhi was decorated as beautifully as a bride on a big fat Indian wedding. Let’s take a deep dive into 2023’s historic G20 summit; Its importance and relevance, session wise analysis, and throw some light on the way ahead.

What is G20?

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising of 19 sovereign countries and the European union. It brings together leaders of these countries to discuss and coordinate on various global economic issues. The G20 is composed of most of the world’s largest economies finance ministries, including both industrialised and developing countries; it accounts for around 80% of gross world product (GWP), 75% of international trade two-thirds of the global population and 60% of the world’s land area. It was established in 1999 as a response to financial crises and aims to foster international financial stability and cooperation. The forum holds annual summits where leaders engage in discussions on topics like financial regulation, trade, climate change, and sustainable development. The G20 operates on a rotating presidency system. Each year one country assumes the presidency and hosts the summit. The host country plays the major role in setting the agenda and priorities for the summit. The 18th edition which was held in September 2023 was hosted by India. Also this year India took a giant stride towards strengthening its power and decision making ability by the proposal of a G20 satellite and has requested the G20 nations to contribute to its payloads and instruments.

India’s G20 Presidency

India hosted the G20 summit for the first time in 2023. A record 43 heads of delegation participated for the event held majorly in Delhi. As a nation committed to democracy and multilateralism, India’s presidency will be a significant milestone as it seeks to find practical global solutions for the benefit of all and embody the idea of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” or “the world is one family.” Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which translates to It is inspired from the Maha Upanishad, an old Sanskrit scripture. The theme fundamentally highlights the importance of all life — human, animal, plant, and microorganism — as well as their interdependence on Earth and across the universe. Also, in my opinion India took a giant stride in sustaining its ties with all the countries which are a part of the G20 summit, especially with the USA Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US in June represented a Great Leap Forward, President Joe Biden’s visit to India represented consolidation and deepening of trust.

Agenda priorities

G20 India has put forth six agenda priorities for the G20 dialogue in 2023

● Green Development, Climate Finance & LiFE

● Accelerated, Inclusive & Resilient Growth

● Technological Transformation & Digital Public Infrastructure

● Multilateral Institutions for the 21st century

● Women-led development

● Accelerating progress on SDGs

Importance of G20 Summit

The G20 is small enough to allow concrete face-to-face discussions that adapt to the new challenges of the international agenda and is large enough to represent the vast majority of world economic production. The G20 has been a summit for global powerhouses to meet and tackle the challenges facing the world economy. The annual Group of 20 summit brings together world leaders in pursuit of a lofty goal: coordinating policy for the global economy. It helps resolving geopolitical issues and provides a trajectory for world corporation. The G20 summit has both direct and indirect impact on developing nations. The decisions made by the G20 regarding global economic policies, trade agreements, and financial regulations can have direct consequences for small developing countries. In the context of global health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the G20 plays a role in coordinating responses and addressing the economic impact also the G20 discusses climate change policies and environmental sustainability. Agreements on reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable practices can affect small developing countries, especially those vulnerable to climate-related challenges.

The Proceedings

The theme of this year’s summit was “Vasudhaeva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One future”, and in the light of this theme the summit was divided into 3 major sessions. These sessions were also called, One Earth, One Family, and One Future respectively.

The inaugural statements of the summit given by the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi included condolences for the earthquake effected people in Morocco. An important issue of global trust deficit was also highlighted in this opening remark.

Modi’s words also included the addressal of the major development prior to the commencement of discussions in this years’ G20 summit was the inclusion of African Union as a permanent member of the summit. After offering a warm welcome to the African union, the Indian prime minister henceforth marked the commencement of the summit, and thus, the first session- One Earth. The tracing of the sessions is as follows;

Session 1- One Earth

The agenda of this first session was to focus on the accelerating climate action through increased mitigation and strengthening. However, the session was not as successful as the other sessions and the development in this session were slightly mediocre in comparison to the other achievements of the summit. It had its own unique hits and misses. Let’s have a look at it in detail.

Session-1 hits: In contrast to the rest of the event, the column of hits for this session is relatively deserted. However, its still not a totally barren field, rather it has some pretty momentous developments. A major hit of this session was the strong commitment towards tripling the global renewable energy capacity by 2030. The session managed to grab attention for the fueling demand of action on climate change by drawing a consensus on the climate action plan of the Delhi declaration. The session managed to squeeze out some serious outcomes amidst the rising global tensions.

Session-1 misses: The misses of the first session majorly comprises of the fact that the commitments made and the roadmaps planned were just a bit too feeble to meet todays alarming needs. Although the session developed an agreement on the 1.5 degree rise of the Paris agreement, it also differs to the same on the very important issue of phasing out of fossil fuels like coal. The declaration talks about phasing down coal usage but there is not any significant remark on ending new coal powerplant constructions. The session’s developments, although significant, were more or less like most other meets on the topic; promising but just not enough.

OUTCOMES

This session turned out to be a step forward in the right direction but not a huge leap. The Delhi declaration of the G20 committed to restricting global temperature rise by 1.5 degrees which is in accordance with the Paris agreement, for which there has to be a reduction of 43% in global emission of greenhouse gases by 2030 in comparison to those of 2019. A global biofuel alliance was also launched which will target the increase of biofuel usage for sustainable development. This session also eyed the goal of achieving net zero global emissions by the mid of the 21st century. The members also pledged upon adopting the United Nations’ 20230 agenda for global development which includes seventeen important points like poverty, hunger, climate action, etc. The Green Development Pact which focuses on achieving sustainable development goals was also a key outcome. The consensus on the declaration also means a consensus on promoting a transition to greener sources of energy like hydrogen by creating a potent global market for it.

Session 2 — One Family

The agenda for the second session of the summit was to focus on the concept of building a global support system by associating every class, every country, every society, and every region of the world. The session was greatly appreciated and was a remarkable achievement. The holistic approach of the summit session, encompassing a diverse range of topics from sustainable development to women’s empowerment, demonstrates a commitment to addressing multifaceted global challenges. The emphasis on youth development and skill enhancement underscores a forward-looking perspective, recognizing the importance of preparing the younger generation for the future.

Session-2 hits: Session 2 was a remarkable achievement and the column of hits of this session was full of green as it adopted New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. The major hit of the session was the diplomatic triumph that India managed to steal from the tight grip of global enemies like lack of trust among countries and increasing global tensions. Coming to a consensus on the declaration in such tough times was truly a masterstroke and will go down as a massive achievement in the history of geopolitics. India also managed to condemn and address the Russia-Ukraine conflict which has emerged as global issue; but the hit in this was that this was achieved in a very smooth fashion ensuring that there is no harm done to the existing relations between India and Russia.

Session-2 misses: The session 2 did not have any major misses but some members of the summit were certainly upset about the diplomacy that India adopted in its criticism to the Russia-Ukraine war. Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau claimed that he would have used a much stronger language to address Russian war crimes if he were the president of the summit. The split in the international community on this topic was highlighted after the thoughts of various leaders were collected on this session.

OUTCOMES

The session pin-pointed on the enhancement of macroeconomic as well as financial stability, promoting the approach that will help resolve the cost-of-living crisis and unlock strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth. Recognising the critical role of private enterprise in accelerating growth and driving sustainable economic transformations was also emphasised. Continuing to enhance macro policy cooperation and support the progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Creating resilient and sustainable global chains and facilitate foreign direct investments towards sustainable business model and also devising pipeline of investible projects. With the accurate use of creative ambiguity, the consensus brought upon the leaders’ declaration set a global example for international relations and diplomacy.

Session 3- One Future

The third and final session of the summit began with the handover of a tree sapling to the prime minister of India by the Brazilian prime minister. This green gift henceforth marked the beginning of the final fruitful hours of the meet.

Session-3 hits: The session 3 of the summit showcased some of the biggest hits in terms of geopolitics, world economics, and technology. First and foremost, India managed to cash in on the absence of Chinese president from the summit by announcing a historic economic corridor which plans to connect, India, Middle east and Europe. This is expected to serve as a counter to China’s belt and road initiative of 2013. The diplomatic warfare among the neighbours now has a fresh development in India’s favour, and due to the rising popularity of China plus one strategy among the west, India has pulled out another weapon from its armoury with the help of this final session and could now be seen as a promising plus one partner.

OUTCOMES

The ending of the summit brought some of the biggest developments and outcomes along with it in the third session of the summit; firstly, the discussion on India-middle east-Europe economic corridor was successful. Global Anti-Base Erosion approach which could lead to reduce the losses of the government by increasing the revenues (100 billion-230 billion USD estimated). India also called for development of a safe, secure and more inclusive digital infrastructure. An urge for protection of intellectual property rights was also heard in this multinational mega event. The aspects of artificial intelligence in the future of humanity also got pondered upon as it is clear that technology will be the backbone of modern developing, as well as developed economies. Topics like Crypto currencies and role of women in shaping the course for our race were also included in this session. Stress was laid on increasing the participation of women in the global economy and multiple crypto currency regulations were analysed.

The G20 summit of 2023 has given new hopes to the world by setting an example of global cooperation. The future generations will look forward to the current leaders and voices for a brighter future. Thus, it becomes a responsibility for us to also consider the way that lies ahead of us.

The way ahead

The G20 Summit in Delhi has definitely given an impetus towards resolution of almost all global challenges confronting humanity as of today.

In an era where voice of the developing world and millions of global citizens still living in abject poverty are lost in the din of the great power rivalry and wars and the world staring helplessly at an irreversible climate crisis which is already upon us, the G20–2023 holds out a rare ray of hope for the global community.

For the upcoming years the focus will be on global priority areas such as green development, climate finance, inclusive growth, digital economy, public infrastructure, technology transformation, and reforms for women empowerment for socio-economic progress. All these steps are taken to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and secure a better future for the generations to come.

It is entirely understandable that G20 countries acknowledge what’s been done and said and signify support for the framework policies and strategies that they have already agreed on in forums like the CBD and UNCCD. However, this can feel a bit like ticking boxes, rather than stating intent. A more impactful message might have consisted of just a paragraph on global treaties and concepts and then focusing on, or trying to finetune and prioritize, the more concrete objectives and plans within them.

The clash of agendas between developed and developing countries was once again palpable in the Ministers’ biodiversity message and is arguably a permanent barrier to progress. On the other hand, the repetition of commitments and of buzzwords is at least some indicator of public and government sentiment. Perhaps it’s a stage that we must get through before we can start having more consequential discussions about trade-offs, tough decisions, and true intergovernmental collaboration.