//SUSTAINABILITY: HOUSING
As billions remain inadequately housed, South Africa’s G20 presidency offers a chance to align housing policy with global goals on development, climate and social equity G20 performance on housing
DELIBERATIONS Since 2008, G20 leaders have devoted 2,929 words in their declarations to housing, slightly more than 1% of the total and averaging 154 per summit. Those references, while not directly related to housing construction, includ financial incentives to increase affordability to poor households by reducing energy costs, increasing employment, improving financial services and enacting tax reform. The first mention was at the 2009 Pittsburgh Summit, in only 3% of that declaration. Between the 2010 Seoul and the 2018 Buenos Aires summits, no more than 3% at each summit referred to housing, with none at all for the following summits except for 2% at Rome in 2021. DECISIONS G20 leaders have made only six commitments on housing, beginning with their focus on financial regulation reform and improved oversight while stabilising the effects of the housing collapse. The first three commitments were on macroeconomic policy and financial regulation at Cannes in 2011 and Los Cabos in 2012. Housing reappeared at Hamburg in 2017 and again at Buenos Aires in 2018 with one commitment on development and one on labour and employment during those crisis-free years. At the 2021 Rome Summit, one commitment specifically addressed household affordability due to energy shocks and economic perils resulting from the Covid-19 shutdown. DELIVERY The G20 Research Group has not assessed any housing commitments for compliance by G20 members. However, 31 commitments have been assessed on five subjects relevant to housing. Together, these housing-relevant commitments averaged 78% compliance, higher than the G20’s overall 71% average. On macroeconomic policy, five housing-relevant commitments made between the 2010 Seoul and 2022 Bali summits covered structural reforms, infrastructure, long-term financing, investment, credit access and central bank price stability. They averaged 90% compliance, and include the drop in 2022 to 78%. On financial regulation, eight housing-relevant commitments made between the 2008 Washington and 2012 Los Cabos summits were on macro-prudential risks and over-the-counter derivative markets. They averaged 73% compliance. On development, 10 housing-relevant commitments made between the 2009 London and 2017 Hamburg summits – on infrastructure, access to finance for the
Kathryn Kotris, researcher, G20 Research Group T
he G20 leaders’ inaugural meeting in November 2008 was held in Washington in urgent response to the global financial crisis created by unfettered mortgage lending and shadow banking that had begun in the United States. Their commitments to strengthen the global financial regulatory regime as a preventive measure have largely been successful and have come at the expense of the growing plight of inadequate affordable housing worldwide. United Nations statistics reveal that approximately 2.8 billion people are not properly housed and over 318 million people are homeless, with disproportion- ately high numbers in Africa and Asia. Housing intersects with many G20 initiatives and several aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals. The enormous adverse socio-economic impacts from inadequate housing undermines the overall progress of G20 initiatives. The themes of South Africa’s G20 presidency are ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability’ – all of which can be advanced through large-scale housing initiatives interwoven with G20 commitments on development, health, climate, energy and the economy to improve outcomes substantially for the global economy, society and national security.
130 // G20 SOUTH AFRICA: THE JOHANNESBURG SUMMIT 2025
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