The Brazilian Presidency of G20 and Climate - What to Expect?

The G20 is the economic cooperation forum of the world's 19 largest economies, plus the European Union and, since 2023, the African Union. With an annual rotating presidency, the G20 is held in one-year cycles, with several ministerial and technical meetings that culminate in the summit of heads of state and government. In Brazil, the G20 summit will be held in Rio de Janeiro on November 18th and 19th, 2024 (g20.rio ).

The group was established when the Asian economic crisis spread to other emerging markets in the late 1990s. The G20 was created as an informal forum for coordination among Ministers of Economy and Finance and Central Bank leaders. The macroeconomic imbalance, originating and spreading in Asia and Latin America, highlighted the necessity of including developing countries in discussions concerning international economic and financial stability, thereby expanding discussions previously held only within the scope of the G7/G8. Together, G20 countries account for 85% of the world's GDP, 75% of the world's trade, 56% of the world's population, and 96% of the world's patents.

Global CO2 emissions reached a level of 38.0 billion tonnes in 2021. The G20 states were responsible for around 81% of these emissions (Federal Statistical Office of Germany ). Therefore, any agreements made by these countries have massive consequences not only for the economy but also for the environment and society. On Monday, Youth Climate Leaders (YCL) invited me to join a conversation about the impact of G20 on climate change together with Lucas Wosgrau Padilha , International Relations Coordinator at Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro , and Iuri Rosario , International Relations Analyst at CEBRI - Centro Brasileiro de Rela??es Internacionais . You can watch the conversation in full on YCL's YouTube channel and below:

With the current geopolitical situation, Brazil can be an important diplomatic player, building bridges among countries that do not trust each other and finding ways to translate different needs and demands from the diverse group of countries represented at the G20. Moreover, Brazil is one of the key actors in climate action, as the seventh largest GHG emitter and home of the Amazon rainforest and other important biomes for climate resiliency. This and the upcoming COP30 in Belem pose an unparalleled opportunity for putting climate change at the heart of economic cooperation. As we discussed in the webinar, a smaller group might also be able to cooperate more effectively than the 190+ countries that join the UN annual Conferences of Parties (COPs).

Talking about opportunity, Lucas Wosgrau Padilha stated that, for the G20, climate change is both a risk and an opportunity (28:17 ). Climate change is a risk for global development, including fiscal risks emerging from the need to redirect financial resources for mitigation and adaptation. There are also monetary challenges, like which currency you will use to finance climate projects, considering countries with dollar sanctions. Another climate topic currently being discussed at the G20 is how cities access resources from multilateral banks and increase their overall participation in global governance. As an example of G20 parallel events, a climate finance conference took place this week in Sao Paulo.

As an opportunity, the unprecedented effort of transitioning to more sustainable societies can create new jobs and improve the lives of millions of young people worldwide. Iuri Rosario is a clear-cut example of the latter point, and he is now actively working to open the doors for other young people (44:35 ). Iuri highlighted how the activism of young people has pushed for concrete and ambitious change towards climate action. Among the key topics Iuri hopes to see discussed are quality climate education, access to job opportunities, and youth participation in climate processes.

There are three main priorities for the Brazilian G20 Presidency: (1) Fighting hunger, poverty?and inequality; (2) The three dimensions of?sustainable development (economic, social and environmental); and (3) Global governance?reform (gov.br ). Closing the event, Lucas said that it is difficult to predict the outcomes of the G20 in Brazil, as they also depend on 20 other actors. However, he hopes Brazil can deliver a high-quality event due to its diversity and the Brazilian approach of combining economic development and climate action with social priorities, such as ending hunger and poverty.

Wanna engage in G20 official events? You can check the agenda on the official website g20.rio . In addition to joining the conversation and the hundreds of events and meetings setting up the stage for the G20 summit in November, Lucas invited Youth Climate Leaders (YCL) members to join his team in the day-to-day activities of the G20 Committee in the city hall of Rio de Janeiro, as they are building a coworking for civil society and government to work together to ensure a lasting legacy and an impactful event.

If you want to join the YCL Network, the YCL Course (in Portuguese) starts on Tuesday (05 March), and we have just a few spots left! You can register with a discount using my coupon CASSIAMORAES. Check the full program here ; I will lecture about Climate Leadership and the Future of Work with Lauro Marins , from WayCarbon .

This will be the topic of my following newsletter. Do you have any suggestions or questions? Please share them in the comments or via DM!

See you soon!