WELCOME
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva President, Brazil Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet
B razil is working hard to ensure the G20 agenda can present concrete advancements. At the core of our priorities is the fight against inequality in all its forms. This concern permeates the three pillars that guide our presidency. The first is social inclusion. In July, we adopted the foundations of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, which is now open for membership and will be officially launched in November. The Alliance will mobilize technical and financial resources to promote a pool of public policies with confirmed efficacy against these scourges. The second pillar is addressing climate change. The G20 is responsible for 80% of all greenhouse emissions. Its leadership in the mission to [restrain] global warming to one and a half degrees will make a huge difference for the entire planet. Brazil has brought to the climate debate stakeholders such as central banks and public development banks so as to ensure a just transition. We have approved the first document on the bioeconomy that was multilaterally agreed upon.
The third pillar is the reform of global governance … If the wealthy countries wish to have the support of the developing world to address the multiple crises of our time, the Global South must be fully represented in the main decision-making forums. This requires at least three major focus areas, which are reflected in the Call for Action endorsed by the G20 … The first is to eliminate the strongly regressive character of [the] international financing architecture. Developing countries face disproportionate costs and difficulties for obtaining funding when compared to the rich countries. Interest rates imposed upon the Global South countries are much higher than those applied to developed nations. The level of debt that severely affects some developing countries strangles any investment in infrastructure, well-being, and sustainability. In 2022, the difference between the amounts paid by the developing world to foreign creditors and that which it received was 49 billion dollars. There is more money coming out of these countries than going in. Taxes on the super-rich is a way to combat inequality and direct resources to
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G20 BRAZIL: THE RIO SUMMIT — 2024
globalgovernanceproject.org
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