The G20 Hamburg Summit draws to an end

The G20 leaders’ summit that brings together the world's 19 largest developed and emerging economies plus the European Union took place in Hamburg on July 7-8.

The leaders’ communiqué that came out of the G20 Hamburg Summit this year includes both a reemphasis on commitments of previous summits and new commitments shaped by the priorities of the German G20 leadership in 2017. The main significance of the leaders’ communiqué - a 15 page document of about 5500 words in 2017-  is the extent  to which political leaders were able to reach an agreement on how to tackle recent global challenges. At the Hamburg Summit, where the G20 leaders also held bilateral political meetings, the leaders discussed G20’s core agenda items including global financial governance, and trade and investment policies for growth as well as other global challenges including combating terrorism, immigration, threats posed by political conflicts, global health and climate change.

The main theme and objectives of G20 meetings held during the German G20 presidency in 2017  were organized under three main headings.  The first of these, ‘Building Resilience’ , focused on strengthening the global financial system to mitigate risks of global economic crises as well as on taking steps towards ensuring sustainable growth and meeting employment targets . To this end, the communiqué emphasized improving global financial governance, supporting efforts to make the global financial architecture more responsive and promoting global trade and investment. Equally as prominent on the leaders’ agenda was the establishment of a more equitable and mutually beneficial global trading system.

The second main objective of the G20 German Presidency, ‘Improving Sustainable Livelihoods’,  emphasized taking forward the objectives set out by the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The most highly anticipated issues leading up to the Summit were the leaders’ position on increasing investments in sustainable energy resources, reducing carbon emissions as well as the next steps to be taken to combat climate change as set out by the Paris Agreement. The announcement by the United States right before the Summit of its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement had led to serious concerns in the international community. These concerns were somewhat set off by the United States’ statement in the communiqué that its  withdrawal from the Agreement did not preclude its cooperation  ‘with other countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently and help deploy renewable and other clean energy sources. All other 19 countries reaffirmed their commitments to implement the Paris Agreement.

The third main objective emphasized by the German G20 presidency in 2017 was ‘Assuming Responsibility’. In this regard, the leaders emphasized stronger cooperation on migration and forced displacement - an issue that holds great significance for Turkey and that has become a serious global problem.

The communiqué also draws attention to establishing new rules for an increasingly digitalized global economy as well as to providing new knowledge and skills in the digital age and social protection to boost employment.

The German G20 presidency’s emphasized energy, climate change, migration and forced displacement. Yet, global pressures (terrorism, hunger and global health problems, impoverishment, forced migration, climate change, gender inequality, corruption) call for a more head on approach. The Hamburg leaders communiqué, while drawing attention to these issues, falls short of taking stronger action to implement commitments made during the Chinese G20 presidency the year before. Time will show whether or not the Hamburg Action Plan and the 13 other documents attached to the communiqué are sufficient  to transform the G20 into a platform that has power to implement its decisions.