Brazil and the G20: Pursuing a just world and a sustainable planet

Last week, the Group of 20 Summit took place in Rio de Janeiro, the birthplace of the Sustainable Development Agenda. Founded in 1999, the G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising the world’s 19 largest economies, as well as the European Union and the African Union. International organizations, such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, were also guests of that Forum.

The G20 members represent around 85 percent of the global GDP, over 75 percent of the global trade and about two-thirds of the world’s population. As the Group does not have a permanent Secretariat, its presidency is supported by a “Troika,” consisting of the previous, the current and the incoming annual Chairs. In December 2023, Brazil received the honor to preside over the G20. Last week we completed our mission in the third of a four-year sequence in which developing countries – Indonesia, India, Brazil and now South Africa – have occupied the leadership of the Group. Over the past year, we held more than 140 meetings across 15 Brazilian cities. We welcomed around 26,000 national and international delegates and hosted 196 press conferences, accrediting 2,740 media professionals.

The Brazilian G20 presidency had three priorities: (1) social inclusion and fight against hunger and poverty; (2) energy transition and sustainable development and (3) reform of global governance institutions. Those priorities were set by President Lula, who tasked the Brazilian team with the clear, albeit difficult, task of coming up with concrete, straightforward and result-oriented initiatives in the pursuit of measures that could have impacts on people’s lives. So, what were the outcomes of the G20 in Brazil?

Firstly, we worked on the conception of a “Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty,” launched with more than 160 founding members, including the Philippines. According to the FAO, in 2024, an estimated 733 million people are still facing undernourishment. Echoing President Lula, in a world that produces almost six billion tons of food per year, this is unacceptable. Conceived to help to end this scourge, the Alliance will articulate international recommendations, effective public policies and sources of financing. Although strenuous, this mission is still possible. Brazil designed and implemented programs for social inclusion, promoting family farming and food and nutritional security, such as “Bolsa Família,” which inspired the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program,” a conditional cash transfer program, and the National School Meals Program. Yet, we have much more to do. The Alliance was born in the G20, but its destiny is global.

Secondly, the Task Force on the Global Mobilization against Climate Change provided a clear commitment to pursue the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, reflecting equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in light of different national circumstances. The G20 members agreed to intensify their efforts to achieve global net zero greenhouse gas emissions/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century.

Besides, Brazil will host next year the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the UNFCCC in Belém, in the heart of the Amazon region. In that opportunity, we will seek to deepen the engagements achieved in COP29 in Baku last Sunday, and to work more on global and regional environmental issues, including the reduction of greenhouse gases, adaptation to climate change, financing for developing countries, preservation of forests and biodiversity, use of renewable energy and low-carbon solutions and the social impacts of climate change. We are confident that the Philippines, host of the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund and deeply committed to the environmental cause, will be a major player in COP30.

Finally, we have been able to adopt the Call to Action on the Reform of Global Governance during the Second G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting, held at the UN Headquarters in New York and open to the participation of all its members and permanent observer states. We were pleased to see that most of its language has been incorporated into the G20 Rio de Janeiro Leaders’ Declaration, which will certainly help us push forward even further the reform agenda. The difficult challenges the global community currently faces can only be addressed through multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow and the strengthening of global governance for the benefit of present and future generations.

The Brazilian presidency of the G20, even in the context of multilateralism in crisis, showed that it is still possible to make a difference and find common ground in the debate of today’s major challenges. We adopted consensus statements in almost all working groups. This milestone was achieved through dedicated diplomatic efforts among the G20 members, culminating in the unanimous adoption of the G20 Rio de Janeiro Leaders’ Declaration. As the Brazilian President stated during the closing session of the Summit, we worked hard, even though we knew we had only scratched the surface of the world’s profound challenges. We can – and we have the responsibility to – do better. Let us continue building a better world and a sustainable planet!

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Gilberto Fonseca Guimarães de Moura is the Ambassador of Brazil to the Philippines, Palau, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.