Tuesday, September 29, 2009

What happened at the Pittsburgh G20?

I didn’t attend the G20 summit in Pittsburgh last week, but I’ve been poring over the communiqué. Here are some initial thoughts on what it all means (numbers in square brackets refer to paragraphs in the original), incorporating analysis and intel from the Oxfam team at the event.

Headline: Pittsburgh formally enshrined the rise of the BRICs and relative decline of the G8: ‘We designated the G-20 to be the premier forum for our international economic cooperation’ [preamble, 19]. The passing of the baton takes place in Canada next June, where the G8 and G20 summits will coincide.

Winners and Losers: Institutions

The World Bank and IMF were once again anointed as the lead agencies on almost everything. ‘The World Bank and other multilateral development banks are critical to our ability to act together to address challenges, such as climate change and food security, which are global in nature and require globally coordinated action…. The World Bank should strengthen.. its focus on food security, … Its focus on human development and security in the poorest and most challenging environments, … support for private-sector led growth and infrastructure… contributions to financing the transition to a green economy through investment in sustainable clean energy generation and use, energy efficiency and climate resilience.’ [24]

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