G20

Heads of state and government of all UN member states negotiated in the most comprehensive consultation process of the UN’s history so far, about the most urgent questions concerning the future. 17 goals of the "Agenda 2030" shall be implemented by 2030.

The endorsement of the Paris Agreement at the Chinese G20 was clearly a step forward for energy sustainability in the face of climate change. Still the indications of how it might be achieved is limited in scope.

G20 governments are spending $444 billion every year to support fossil fuel production. These financial flows are limiting the expansion of renewable energies that could curb global warming and meet a variety of sustainable development goals.

Tackling corruption is crucial to the G20’s goal of generating inclusive growth and establishing a cleaner, safer, more sustainable economic framework. The cross-border nature of the problem requires global solutions, ones that the G20 must lead on.

The Group of Seven (G7) and the Group of Twenty (G20) are informal governance clubs, which hold annual Summits of Heads of State to discuss issues of global importance.

When a government takes on more public debt than it can service, there are serious consequences. Besides cuts in public budgets one country’s over-indebtedness can have spillover effects on regional or even global markets, as we saw in the recent Greek financial crisis.

The G20 uses the term “Green Finance” as a broad umbrella term that refers to the major shift in financial flows required to support projects that benefit the environment and society by reducing pollution or tackling climate change.

Each year in December, a different G20 member country assumes the presidency of the Group. ➨ Read about how the rotation and the regional groups work.

Who are the G20 member countries? What issues do they have? Who leads? Our factsheet gives a first overview.

Maureen Santos debates the challenges for the environmental movements against environmental degradation on international and national level.

As in Russia severe restrictions are being placed on civil society organisations which enables them to operate freely. Therefore nearly 30 civil organizations have signed a joint statement in the forefront of the G20 summit in Russia - stating there views of a functioning democratic process in civil societies.

Two years ago, the group of the world’s 20 major economies (the G20) announced their shared ambition: to manage the global economic crisis more efficiently and more transparently than the old industrialized nations (G8), and to prevent further financial market crises or economic downturns. Only two years later, the G20 now stands at a crossroads.