G20 Summit, 2024

23 January 2025

The 19th G20 Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from November 18 to 19, 2024, under the theme Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet. The main agendas of the Rio de Janeiro Declaration, include social inclusion, fight against hunger and poverty, the taxation of billionaires, measures for the energy transition, the global governance reform, and the acceleration of climate action.

A key initiative introduced by Brazil is G20 Social, which aim to integrate civil society perspectives into discussions, ensuring a broader range of viewpoints included in policy formation.

The G20 leaders welcomed the African Union as a full member, emphasising the importance of amplifying Africa’s voice in global forums.

The 2025 Summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Some Key Messages of the 2024 Summit

International Economic and Political Situation

The leaders of the G20 said, inequality within and among countries is at the root of most global challenges that we face and is aggravated by them. So they would accelerate their efforts and reaffirm their strong commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. They would continue to foster strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth, address cost of living pressures, safeguard fiscal sustainability, and mitigate negative spillovers.
The leaders said, we are concerned that medium- and long-term global growth prospects are below historical averages. We will keep on striving to reduce growth disparities across countries through structural reforms. They also committed to further promoting sustainable capital flows and fostering sound policy frameworks, notably central bank independence.
They emphasised their national positions and resolutions adopted at the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly and underscored that all states must act in a manner consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in its entirety. They stressed on the need to urgently expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to civilians and demanded the lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale.
To guide their actions towards concrete results, the Brazilian G20 Presidency focused this year’s work on three priorities—(i) social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty; (ii) sustainable development, energy transitions and climate action; and (iii) the reform of global governance institutions.

Social Inclusion and the Fight against Hunger and Poverty

Amid COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people facing hunger had reached 733 million in 2023, particularly affecting women and children. In response, the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty was launched which would mobilise finance and knowledge-sharing for the implementation of large-scale evidence-based programmes. This alliance would advocate for strategies like cash transfers, school feeding programmes, and improved financial access tailored to national contexts.
The G20 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to food security, emphasising the role of agriculture in addressing poverty, hunger, nutrition, and climate challenges. They have further pledged their support for sustainable food production in developing countries and reducing food waste.
They advocated for open trade policies and diversification of food supply chains for ensuring resilience against external shocks, addressing challenges like fertiliser shortages.
The swift implementation of the 2023 Action Plan on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the scaling up of resources for fighting against inequalities through development cooperation, innovative financial tools, and mechanisms was emphasised.
The 2024 Summit committed to anti-corruption measures, progressive taxation for reducing domestic inequalities, and the implementation of the Two-Pillar Solution for international tax cooperation. They have been aimed to increase resources for developing countries, focusing on achieving SDGs.
While addressing the impacts of market fluctuations and debt vulnerabilities, the members emphasised the need for country-specific solutions to development financing challenges. They called for increased support for countries facing liquidity issues and debt sustainability challenges.
The G20 nations further prioritised the strengthening of global health systems, particularly through the WHO, by committing to Universal Health Coverage and pandemic prevention efforts.
They focused on improving water, sanitation and hygiene systems, quality education, and promotion of digital inclusion for bridging inequalities. The role of culture, innovation, and women’s empowerment was highlighted with the G20 leaders emphasising on gender equality, the fight against gender-based violence and increased participation of women in leadership roles.
The G20 leaders underscored the importance of disaster risk reduction and international cooperation for the support of migrants, ensuring human rights and addressing migration challenges.

Sustainable Development, Energy Transitions, and Climate Action

The G20 leaders acknowledged the severity and stressed the need to meet the Paris Agreement’s temperature goals aiming to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. They ensured that efforts would be made to integrate climate action into national economies and the international financial system, ensuring alignment with sustainable development and poverty eradication.
The leaders reaffirmed the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, reflecting varying national circumstances and encouraged countries for setting ambitious emission reduction targets.
The G20 underscored the necessity of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It called for enhanced international cooperation for addressing climate change while recognising the importance of an open global economic system. Support for sustainable finance mechanisms, such as the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap was also emphasised. Additionally, the importance of operationalising just transitions and enhancing the effectiveness of climate funds was also stressed.
Regarding the climate crisis, the G20 leaders committed to accelerating the global energy transition, focusing on increasing renewable energy capacity and energy efficiency especially in developing countries. The group recognised the role of diverse low-emission technologies and the importance of responsible supply chains for energy transitions.
Biodiversity has been another key focus, with the G20 leaders reaffirming their commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the need for protecting forests and combating land degradation was stressed. Waste reduction in the context of plastic pollution has further been prioritised with the goal of finalising negotiations on a legally binding international instrument by the end of 2024.
The 2024 Summit launched G20 initiative on Bioeconomy and reaffirmed the importance of the oceans for sustainable development. The leaders committed to enhancing international cooperation on marine biodiversity conservation.

The Reform of Global Governance Institutions

While upholding the UN Charter and by creation of a more inclusive, effective, and accountable system for the 21st century, G20 committed to strengthen the UN’s General Assembly by enhancing its role as the primary policymaking body, reform the Security Council, strengthen the Economic and Social Council, and seeking a more representative UN Secretariat with greater transparency, gender balance, and equitable geographical distribution.
Building on previous G20 presidencies, the G20 endorsed Multilateral Development Banks roadmap for the enhancement of their impact on global challenges and SDGs by evolving their visions, financial capacities, and operational approaches. It has been supporting IMF reforms, debt vulnerability measures, and addressing global debt issues through the G20 Common Framework and other efforts.
Emphasising a fair, open, and transparent multilateral trading system, the G20 stressed the WTO’s central role in ensuring rules-based trade supporting the WTO reforms.
The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises growth in the global digital economy. The G20 aims to harness AI benefits responsibly and inclusively while addressing challenges such as human rights, fairness, transparency, safety, and privacy. The G20 emphasised digital inclusion, particularly in bridging gender gaps and empowering vulnerable groups while calling guidelines on AI use in the workplace.

Challenges and Concerns

With only six years left to meet the 2030 Agenda on the SDGs, the progress has been slow with only 17 per cent of the targets being on track and many goals showing minimal or no progress. These challenges have disproportionately affected the most vulnerable populations, exacerbating global inequality which the G20 addressed in 2024 by prioritising inequality in all its forms.

Despite a soft global economic landing, with G20 countries focused on fostering balanced growth, tackling cost-of-living pressures, ensuring fiscal sustainability, addressing growth disparities through structural reforms and central banks maintaining price stability and fiscal policies, there have been concerns about global growth prospects being below historical averages.

On geopolitical and humanitarian concerns, the G20 has been concerned regarding the war and conflicts in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Ukraine, it has been calling for humanitarian assistance, civilian protection and a peaceful resolution in line with UN resolutions. It has been emphasising the right to self-determination for Palestinians. It has also expressed its concern about the war in Ukraine’s global repercussions on food, energy security, and inflation.

India at the 2024 Summit

The 2024 Summit was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He highlighted India’s achievements in people-centric growth as India progressed in lifting 250 million people out of poverty and providing food security to over 800 million citizens. India’s healthcare programme, benefiting over 550 million people, was also highlighted, with additional support for senior citizens. He also commended Brazil’s G20 Presidency for continuing India’s initiatives.

He emphasised on empowering women and farmers, noting that 300 million women gained access to credit, and farmers received financial assistance through insurance, direct support, and loans. India’s efforts in combating hunger and malnutrition through programmes like Saksham Anganwadi and Mid-Day Meal Schemes were also highlighted, alongside humanitarian aid to countries like Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

He also highlighted India’s commitment to sustainable agriculture, including promoting millets and developing climate-resilient crops. He emphasised the role of digital infrastructure in driving inclusion and development, particularly through projects like the Aspirational Districts. Lastly, he called for global governance reforms and expressed support for initiatives to address the needs of the Global South, including the African Union’s G20 membership, ensuring no one is left behind in the pursuit of equitable growth.

Conclusion

The G20 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to fighting hunger, poverty, inequality and, promotion of sustainable development across economic, social, and environmental sectors while advocating for global governance reforms. The G20 has always remained united in its commitment to a nuclear-free world and has always condemned terrorism. Diplomacy and peaceful conflict resolution are seen as essential for achieving global sustainability and prosperity.