G20 in Brazil: Taxing billionaires, trillions for climate change and the fight against hunger and poverty

On 18 and 19 November, the G20 leaders met in Brazil in a summit concluding the year of Brazil’s presidency of the G20. The outcome of the Summit was the adoption of the Rio de Janeiro Declaration and the launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, a flagship of the Brazilian presidency. The EU was also present, represented by the President of the European Council Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. A notable absentee was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was represented by his Foreign Affairs Minister Lavrov.??

Despite tensions amongst G20 countries on a number of international trade related issues – tensions which are bound to increase with shifting geopolitical balances – leaders reached an agreement at Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday with commitments on the taxation of the ultra-rich, addressing world hunger and mobilization against climate change, reflecting the Summit’s theme ‘Building a just world and a sustainable planet’. Additionally, amongst the positive developments is the Summit’s increased focus on the Global South in the discussions, as well as the African Union becoming officially a G20 member.?

Addressing world hunger and poverty has been a priority for the Brazilian Presidency:? President Lula had been pushing for an agreement on the creation of a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. The Alliance was officially launched by leaders on Tuesday and aims to raise resources and promote knowledge sharing to implement policies and develop technologies that can effectively reduce hunger and poverty globally. The Alliance is open to all interested countries, and already counts amongst its members 82 countries, the African Union and European Union, as well as international organizations, international financial institutions and around 30 NGOs.??

Leaders also reiterated the importance of addressing climate change and echoed many of the calls made at the COP29, which concludes on Friday 22nd in Baku, Azerbaijan. While they recognized the need for increased climate finance for low-income countries, no mention was made of transitioning away from fossil fuels, an issue that has also been highly contested at COP29 due to opposition from countries such as Saudi Arabia.??

The Declaration also seems to be falling short of what could have been agreed on other fronts, for instance when it comes to security. In his remarks after the signing German Chancellor Scholtz regretted that the communique does not mention Russia’s responsibility for the war in Ukraine, or Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran in the light of increasing tensions in the Middle East, both aspects that were also explicitly mentioned by European Council President Michel in his address to G20 leaders.?

The conflicts were referred to mostly in general terms, with the Declaration stressing the need to strengthen humanitarian aid in Gaza and Lebanon and underlining the adverse impact of the war in Ukraine on global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth. This is not novel, as discussions on Ukraine have been tense since the beginning of the war with Russia still being a key presence at the table. Nonetheless, the vague reference to ‘suffering’ caused by the conflict in Ukraine, likely a compromise to achieve consensus, stands as a stark contrast to leaders’ concerns over Putin’s revision of the Russian nuclear doctrine.??

Finally, beyond a political declaration, it is unclear whether there is a real will for leaders to effectively implement the commitments on a new taxation for the super-rich – the third major priority of the Brazilian presidency. The proposal would target the world’s richest 3,000 people and could raise as much as $250 billion (€230 billion), to be allocated to health education and climate change.??

While leaders agreed to “engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed”, following up on a previous agreement in July 2024, opposition of countries such as the US, Germany, and Argentina could present an effective hamper to reaching a binding agreement. In particular, Argentina’s support across international fora has been waning in the past months, as the country failed to sign a previous G20 statement on gender equality and women empowerment put forward by Brazil in October 2024, and left COP29 negotiations only two days after the opening.??

Overall, the lack of concrete commitments reflected throughout the Declaration points towards increased difficulties in achieving consensus at an international level and might be another case of too little, too late. It is unclear whether fora such as the G20 are still capable of providing a common way forward or whether they have become merely another reflection of existing multipolar divisions, with least common denominator agreements as the only possible outcome.??

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