| Leaders of the G20 nations attend the second working session of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Sept. 9. AFP-Yonhap |
The Group of 20 nations adopted a consensus declaration at a summit Saturday that avoided condemnation of Russia for the war in Ukraine but called on all states to refrain from the use of force to seize territory.
The consensus came as a surprise as the group is deeply divided over the war in Ukraine, with Western nations earlier pushing for strong condemnation of Russia in the Leaders' Declaration, while other countries demanded a focus on broader economic issues.
The following are excerpts from the declaration.
Ukraine War
- Concerning the war in Ukraine, all states must act in a manner consistent with purposes and principles of the U.N. charter in its entirety.
- On the war in Ukraine, all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.
- On the war in Ukraine, the use or threat of the use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible.
- On the Ukraine crisis, "there were different views and assessments of the situation."
-The peaceful resolution of conflicts, and efforts to address crises as well as diplomacy and dialogue are critical
- "Today's era must not be of war."
Grain/food/energy security
- Calls on Russia and Ukraine to ensure immediate and unimpeded deliveries of grain, foodstuffs, and fertilizers/inputs from Russia and Ukraine
- Emphasizing the importance of sustaining food and energy security, called for the cessation of military destruction or other attacks on relevant infrastructure
- The potential for high levels of volatility in food and energy markets remains
Economies and financial markets
- "Will protect the vulnerable, through promoting equitable growth and enhancing macroeconomic and financial stability"
- Reaffirm April 2021 exchange rate commitment made by our finance ministers and central bank governors
- We endorse financial stability board's high-level recommendations for regulation, supervision and oversight of crypto-assets, activities.
- Our finance ministers, central bank governors will discuss taking forward the cryptocurrency roadmap at their meeting in October.
- Renew our commitment to ensure a level-playing field and fair competition by discouraging protectionism, market distorting practices
Climate change
- Need to accelerate efforts to phasedown unabated coal power, in line with national circumstances
- Will work towards facilitating low-cost financing for developing countries to support their transition to low carbon/emissions
- Will pursue and encourage efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally through existing targets and policies, in line with national circumstances by 2030
- Reiterate our commitment to take action to scale up sustainable finance
- Reiterate use of carbon pricing and non-pricing mechanisms and incentives toward carbon neutrality and net zero
- Recognize need for increased global investments to meet our climate goals of the Paris agreement
- Note the need of $5.8-5.9 tril. in pre-2030 period required for developing countries, in particular for their needs to implement their emission targets
- Calls on parties to set an ambitious, transparent, and trackable New Collective Quantified Goal of climate finance in 2024, from a floor of $100 billion a year
Global debt vulnerabilities
- Commit to promoting resilient growth by urgently and effectively addressing debt vulnerabilities in developing countries
- Call for swift conclusion of the debt treatment for Ethiopia
Health
- Remain committed to strengthening a global health architecture
- Will enhance resilience of health systems and support development of climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems in collaboration with multilateral development banks (MDBs) (Reuters)