Tag: G20

G20: First Environment and Climate Sustainability meeting in Bengaluru from Feb 9

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Bengaluru: The first Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meeting, under India’s G20 presidency, will be held here from February 9 to 11.
Hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the conference will be chaired by Secretary in the ministry, Leena Nandan.
With the goal of adopting an integrated, comprehensive and consensus-driven approach to tackling the challenges of climate change, several delegates from G20 countries along with representatives of international organisations will participate in this meeting.
As a matter of priority, the working group will be focusing on arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration, and enriching biodiversity; promoting a sustainable and climate-resilient blue economy; and encouraging resource efficiency and circular economy.
LiFE is an “important and cross cutting” theme across all three priorities, officials said, adding that the three-day meeting includes an event on ecosystem restoration and biodiversity enrichment practices. The subsequent meetings will take place at Gandhinagar, Mumbai and Chennai.
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. Over 200 G20 meetings on various themes are scheduled to be held during the country’s year-long presidency of the influential group which will culminate with an annual summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.
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#G20 #Environment #Climate #Sustainability #meeting #Bengaluru #Feb
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 9, 2023
Guterres calls on G20 to come up with relief package for Global South

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United Nations: Warning that poverty and hunger are rising around the world, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked the G20 nations led by India to come up with a package offering investments and debt relief to nations of the Global South to help achieve the UN’s development goals.
Unveiling his proposal for a ‘New Agenda for Peace’ during a briefing on his priorities for this year, Guterres told the General Assembly on Monday that by the time of the summit on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September, “I urge the G20 to agree on the global SDG Stimulus that I proposed at last November’s G20 Summit to support the countries of the Global South”.
His New Agenda proposals covered a gamut of issues that included preventing a nuclear holocaust, reforms of the economic infrastructure, new technologies, social media and bigotry.
Guterres projected a gloomy picture of the world “staring down the barrel of a confluence of challenges unlike any other in our lifetimes” with wars, economic inequalities, Aclimate change and “epic geopolitical divisions”.
His most serious warning was about the threat of a nuclear war, pointing out that the “Doomsday Clock” of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that purports to show the likelihood of a nuclear holocaust was at 90 seconds to midnight.
“We are at the highest risk in decades of a nuclear war that could start by accident or design” from “the 13,000 nuclear weapons held in arsenals around the world,” he said.
“Nuclear-armed countries must renounce the first use of these unconscionable weapons,” he said.
India has declared that it will not use nuclear weapons first, as has China, but others with atomic weapons have not adopted the policy.

Guterres also called attention to “the dangers posed by new technologies”.
He said that the New Agenda should include “international bans on cyberattacks on civilian infrastructure, and internationally agreed limits on lethal autonomous weapons systems”, a reference to robots and drones.
He suggested a new type of counterterrorist operations by regional force under Security Council mandates as he unveiled his proposal for a New Agenda for Peace with a warning that humanity is facing its “darkest hour”.
He said, “The New Agenda for Peace must recognize the need for a new generation of peace enforcement missions and counter-terrorist operations, led by regional forces, with a Security Council mandate under Chapter VII” of the UN Charter that provides for action on threats to peace.
The prospect for peace is diminishing in the Russian invasion of Ukraine while “the chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing”, he said
“I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open,” Guterres said.
In dealing with poverty and inequalities, he said “the global financial architecture does not need a simple evolution; it needs a radical transformation”.
“A new determination to ensure developing countries have a far greater voice in global financial institutions” and “a new commitment to place the dramatic needs of developing countries at the centre of every decision and mechanism of the global financial system, were needed”.
Focusing on the Abrahamic faiths, Guterres said, “antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, the persecution of Christians, racism and white supremacist ideology are on the march” but left out the attacks on and threats faced by minorities belonging to religions like Hinduism, Sikhism and Bahaism.
More broadly, he said, “Ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, migrants, indigenous people and the LGBTQI-plus (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and other) community are increasingly targeted for hate, online and off”.
He said that many in positions of power profit by sowing division and hatred and “weaponise cultural differences”.
“Social media platforms use algorithms that amplify toxic ideas and funnel extremist views into the mainstream” and “advertisers finance this business model while “some platforms tolerate hate speech – the first step towards hate crime”, Guterres said.
He said that all stakeholders should agree to a Code of Conduct for information integrity on digital platforms.
The UN chief said that “everyone with influence on the spread of mis- and disinformation on the internet – governments, regulators, policymakers, technology companies, the media, civil society -” should act.
(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 7, 2023
India’s economy already 10% more energy efficient than G20 average: IEA

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New Delhi: India’s economy is already 10 per cent more energy efficient than both the global and G20 average. India took less time to go from half to full electricity access than other major economies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday.
Just hours ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the three-day India Energy Week in Bengaluru to showcase India’s rising prowess as an energy transition powerhouse, the IEA said the adoption worldwide of the kinds of actions and measures targeted by LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), including behavioural changes and sustainable consumer choices, would reduce the annual global carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2 billion tonnes in 2030.
The LiFE initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021.
It aims to encourage the adoption of sustainable lifestyles in India and internationally to tackle the challenges of environmental degradation and climate change.
A new report, “LiFE Lessons From India”, by the IEA looks at how India’s G20 Presidency this year could strengthen the LiFE initiative internationally to help reduce emissions, energy bills, and inequalities in per capita energy consumption and emissions between countries.
According to the LiFE initiative, the global adoption of such measures would also save consumers globally around $440 billion in 2030.
LiFE measures can also help lower inequalities in energy consumption and emissions between countries. The reductions the measures could deliver in per capita carbon dioxide emissions in advanced economies by 2030 are three to four times greater than in emerging market and developing economies, it says.
The report says already the third largest national market globally for renewables, India has recently seen the growth of consumer-centric solutions like distributed solar PV take off, with rooftop solar growing 30-fold in less than a decade.

Supportive policies and awareness campaigns in India have also driven electric passenger vehicles to a market share of almost five per cent in 2022 – with sales tripling from 2021.
India’s example shows the importance of behavioural change and consumption choices in driving energy transitions.
The IEA has analysed the impact of measures like those proposed by the LiFE initiative, such as buying an EV or taking public transport, as part of comprehensive energy transition strategies.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told IANS, “India’s G20 Presidency this year represents a unique opportunity to globalise the LiFE initiative — providing a knowledge-sharing platform for other leading economies to realise the impact that LiFE’s recommendations can have in the fight against climate change, air pollution and unaffordable energy bills.
“Since the G20 makes up nearly 80 per cent of global energy demand, meaningful changes by its members can make a big difference.”
The International Monetary Fund estimates that India will be the world’s third-largest economy by 2027, and India is already on course to become the most populous country this year.
Its critical challenge is to ensure secure and affordable energy for growth while advancing its net-zero transition over the coming decades.
To meet these challenges, India has embarked on a dynamic new phase in its energy transformation, which spans three broad areas.
Firstly, it has launched important initiatives to bring down the prices and increase the supply of clean energy. These include a target of non-fossil fuel sources contributing to 50 per cent of India’s power generation capacity by 2030; a National Green Hydrogen Mission with the ambition of establishing annual renewable hydrogen production of 5 million tonnes (Mt) by 2030; and biofuel mandates that target 30 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol by 2030.
Secondly, India seeks to domesticate parts of the global supply chains that will be critical to its new energy economy. This includes the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme that promotes the domestic manufacturing of solar PV, advanced batteries and electric vehicles.
Thirdly, the government has focused on demand-side measures, including taking the first steps towards the creation of a national carbon market, an energy efficiency trading scheme for industries, incentivising the purchase of electric vehicles, bulk procurement of electric buses for public transport, standards and labelling of appliances, and most recently, the Lifestyles for Environment (LiFE) initiative that aims to nudge behaviours and individual consumption choices towards cleaner alternatives.
These measures have immense potential but need global support. The IEA estimates that India will need $145 billion per year until 2030 in clean energy investment to put it on a path towards net-zero emissions by 2070. This is triple the current level of annual clean energy investment in India.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 6, 2023
Power Minister urges G20 members to counter climate change challenges unitedly

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New Delhi: Power Minister R.K. Singh on Sunday called upon G20 member countries to join together in countering the challenges posed by global warming and climate change.
Delivering the keynote address at the first Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) meeting in Bengaluru, he said that India now stands committed to reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 45 percent by 2030 from 2005 level.
He said that the country also aims to achieve close to 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
Noting that India has been ranked amongst the top five performing countries in the Climate Change Performance Index, the Power Minister said that the country’s per capita greenhouse gas emissions are far below the world average of 6.3 tCO2e in 2020.
Various energy saving schemes of the government have led to 267.9 million tonnes of CO2 reduction per year, resulting in an estimated cost savings of $18.5 billion, he added.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 5, 2023
Bengaluru: Prahlad Joshi calls for harmony with nature at G20 Enegery Transitions Group meet

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Bengaluru: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Sunday highlighted India’s lifestyle culture and said that it is possible to live in ‘harmony with nature’ without doing undue exploitation.
Union minister was addressing the G20 Energy Transitions Group meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday and said that the Indians believe in nature-friendly practices.
“It is possible to live in harmony with nature without its undue exploitation. We Indians believe in nature-friendly practices. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Circular economy is part of our lifestyle culture,” he said.
The Minister also stressed the need to evolve and said precepts for the youths of the world that help in developing unified global perspectives to economic growth, and to bridge the disparity of thinking between developing and developed nations.
Joshi noted that India recognizes the importance of energy security and affordability with climate change.
“Energy transition in developing countries requires an investment in clean fuel. While prioritizing growth we can’t compromise energy for future generations,” he said.
The minister also emphasized that there will be challenges in the energy transition, and said that the G20 nations must work with international communities to target the energy transition goal.
“G20 nations must understand that the energy transition will have challenges and opportunities for nations. We must work with international communities to target energy transition goal from fossil fuels to cleaner fuel which is inclusive and just,” said Joshi.

Union Minister for Power RK Singh called for preparing an ‘inclusive agenda’, while stating that nearly 800 million people globally do not have access to energy.
The Minister said that there is a need for a holistic discourse on energy security.
“Holistic discourse is needed on energy alternatives, security, and transition. Growing energy demand requires viable storage. 800 million people globally don’t have energy access. We must make inclusive agenda,” he said.
India has assumed the presidency of G20 from December 1, 2022, for one year.
In its presidency, the first Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) Meeting is being held in Bengaluru from February 5-7, 2023.
The seminar focuses on underlining the importance of CCUS for achieving a “clean energy transition” and subsequently moving towards net zero.
The goal is to reduce one billion tons of total projected emissions by 2030 and bring down the country’s carbon intensity to less than 45 percent.
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#Bengaluru #Prahlad #Joshi #calls #harmony #nature #G20 #Enegery #Transitions #Group #meet
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 5, 2023
G20 meeting of financial architecture working group concludes

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Chandigarh: A two-day meeting of the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group concluded here on Tuesday with participants discussing issues pertaining to strengthening multilateral development banks and how to address challenges associated with the debt.
Around 100 delegates from the G20 countries, invitee countries and international organisations participated in the meeting, Anu P Mathai, adviser, the Ministry of Finance, said while addressing the media here.
The discussions during the two-day meeting was jointly steered by the ministry of finance and the Reserve Bank of India along with France and Korea who are the co-chairs of the International Financial Architecture Working Group.
Matahi said the meeting was conducted over two days and the aim was to seek views of the G20 member countries and the invitee countries on the agenda of this group under the Indian presidency.
“The subjects that were discussed over the last two days were how to strengthen multilateral development banks and how to address challenges associated with this the G20 common framework for debt treatments which is a previous achievement of G20 for helping the very poor countries with the debt.
“The focus of this group in 2023 is to support a global action for enhancing financing for development while at the same time, strengthening international financial institutions to support vulnerable countries,” she said.
There will be more meetings of this group, she further said.
India assumed the G20 presidency for one year on December 1, 2022. The G20, or Group of 20, is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.

It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).
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#G20 #meeting #financial #architecture #working #group #concludes
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 31, 2023
G20 meeting of financial architecture working group concludes

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Chandigarh: A two-day meeting of the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group concluded here on Tuesday with participants discussing issues pertaining to strengthening multilateral development banks and how to address challenges associated with the debt.
Around 100 delegates from the G20 countries, invitee countries and international organisations participated in the meeting, Anu P Mathai, adviser, the Ministry of Finance, said while addressing the media here.
The discussions during the two-day meeting was jointly steered by the ministry of finance and the Reserve Bank of India along with France and Korea who are the co-chairs of the International Financial Architecture Working Group.
Matahi said the meeting was conducted over two days and the aim was to seek views of the G20 member countries and the invitee countries on the agenda of this group under the Indian presidency.
“The subjects that were discussed over the last two days were how to strengthen multilateral development banks and how to address challenges associated with this the G20 common framework for debt treatments which is a previous achievement of G20 for helping the very poor countries with the debt.
“The focus of this group in 2023 is to support a global action for enhancing financing for development while at the same time, strengthening international financial institutions to support vulnerable countries,” she said.
There will be more meetings of this group, she further said.
India assumed the G20 presidency for one year on December 1, 2022. The G20, or Group of 20, is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.

It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).
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#G20 #meeting #financial #architecture #working #group #concludes
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 31, 2023
Russia’s Lavrov to participate in G20 foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi

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Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the meeting of G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi on March 1-2, his deputy said on Monday.
India officially assumed the G20 presidency on December 1.
“Our foreign minister will take part in the meeting of G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi on March 1-2,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told reporters.
As part of the group’s activities, India intends to hold more than 200 meetings in 55 different locations across the country to showcase its cultural heritage, culminating in the annual G20 summit scheduled for September 9-10 in the capital, New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has previously said his country’s G20 presidency will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive and action-oriented.
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.
It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU).
Collectively, the G20 accounts for 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

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#Russias #Lavrov #participate #G20 #foreign #ministers #meeting #Delhi
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 30, 2023
G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group meeting to begin on Monday

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Chandigarh: A G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group meeting will start on Monday, where participants will discuss ways to enhance the stability and cohesion of the global financial architecture and how to make it fit to address global challenges of the 21st century.
The two-day meeting will also focus on exploring ways to provide maximum support to poor and vulnerable countries, Anu P Mathai, economic advisor, department of economic affairs, told the media here on Sunday.
Around 100 delegates from G20 countries, invitee countries and international organisations will participate in the meeting.
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of Food Processing Industries Pashupati Kumar Paras will inaugurate it, she said.
The discussions during the meeting will be jointly steered by the ministry of finance and the Reserve Bank of India along with France and Korea who are the co-chairs of the International Financial Architecture Working Group.
“The meeting will discuss ways how to increase the stability and cohesion of the international financial architecture and how to make it fit to address the global challenges of the 21st century,” she said.
Sharing details about the working group, she said it plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global financial architecture on major international economic issues.
“This group originated in response to the Asian financial crisis. Initially, it was a grouping of the finance ministers and the central bank governors of these countries.

“In 2008, when there was a global financial crisis, it was elevated to a summit level and it means that the heads of the states of these countries also begin to meet every year,” she said.
This working group particularly deals with how to strengthen the crisis response at the times of crisis, she said.
Replying to a question, she said the debt is a major item on the agenda of the International Financial Architecture Working Group.
“Then how multilateral development banks and international financial institutions can be made stronger to meet the funding needs of the challenges of the 21st century like pandemic and climate change.
“Then the global financial safety net which is a term used for the network of institutions and lending arrangements and regional financial arrangements for increasing liquidity and for providing resources both as preventive measures and in times of crisis. So how can this be made stronger and that is another area which is going to be discussed.
“There is an issue like what are the implications, macroeconomic implications of the central bank digital currency that is another issue. Then the issue related to capital flows, volatility of the capital flows. So there are the broad areas of the International Financial Architecture Working Group,” she said.
Under the Indian Presidency, there will be a comprehensive look at the global debt situation, she said in a response to a question.
On the sidelines of the meeting on Monday, a G20 side event titled ‘Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): Opportunities and Challenges’ will also be held.
The event is aimed at sharing countries’ experiences and developing a deeper understanding of the macro prudential implications of CBDCs, she further said.
This working group will meet again in March, June, and September at other places to continue discussions on the priorities set under the Indian Presidency.
Discussions from the International Financial Architecture Working Group meeting will further inform the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) on the key deliberations on related priorities under India’s G20 Finance Track, said an official release.
The first meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is scheduled to be held on 24-25 February 2023 in Bengaluru.
Baldeo Purushartha, joint secretary, department of economic affairs, said the foreign delegates will be apprised of the art and culture of North India through a cultural event.
They will also be taken to famous sites like Sukhna Lake and Rock Garden in Chandigarh and on February 1, the delegates will be taken to Virasat-e-Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, he said.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh city has been decked up with national flags of the G20 countries at various roundabouts.
Guides well-versed in multiple languages will also accompany the delegates when they visit famous places in Chandigarh.
India assumed the G20 presidency for one year on December 1, 2022. The G20, or Group of 20, is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.
It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
India’s G20 presidency will be outcome-oriented: Amitabh Kant

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Hyderabad: India’s G20 presidency will be decisive, inclusive and outcome-oriented, said G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant at a press conference on Friday.
He underlined that G20 is important because it comprises 85 per cent of the global GDP, 78 per cent of global trade and 2/3rds of the world’s population.
It is significant in light of the world’s ongoing crises, Kant said.
A new Engagement Group – Startup20 – has been established as part of the G20 India Presidency. Startup20 aims to develop a global narrative for supporting startups and facilitating synergies among startups, corporations, investors, innovation agencies, and other key ecosystem stakeholders, according to an official release of Startup20 PRO.
The primary objective is to harmonise the global startup ecosystem through a collaborative and forward-looking approach.
As per the official statement, the purpose of this group is to provide a common platform for startups from G20 member countries to come together to develop actionable guidance in the form of the building of enabler’s capacities, identification of funding gaps, enhancement of employment opportunities, achievement of SDG targets and climate resilience, and growth of an inclusive ecosystem.
The Startup20 activities will span over five events.
The Inception Meet of Startup20 will be held in Hyderabad on January 28-29. The summit event will happen in July 2023 in Gurugram with three intervening events that have been planned in different parts of India.

The participating countries include the G20 countries as well as 9 observer countries from overseas.
About 80 delegates are expected. Indian delegates expected are around 100, including Incubators, Startups, Investors, and Industry Partners among others, the press release added.
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#Indias #G20 #presidency #outcomeoriented #Amitabh #Kant
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 28, 2023