Geopolitical Europe Pulse: G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro
22 November 2024
Earlier this week, representatives of the G20, the informal gathering of many of the world’s largest economies, met in Rio de Janeiro. Under the motto “Building a just world and a sustainable planet”, leaders addressed questions of global governance, sustainable development, and social inclusion. As the summit was, in the aftermath of the US elections earlier this month, a bit more under the radar than usually, this Geopolitical Europe Pulse brings you a roundup of content on the main results, and more generally on Europe’s engagement with partners outside the transatlantic sphere, often referred to as “Global South”.
Summit outcomes: Social inclusion, global governance reform, and sustainable development and energy transition were the top issues on the summit’s agenda. The European Council website has compiled a summary of the results, and the full declaration is available here.
A Brazilian perspective on the summit: Brazil’s biggest newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo, published an article with the title “G20 Prioritizes Gaza in Declaration, Marking a Win for Emerging Countries”. The argument in a nutshell: the war in the Middle East with the immense humanitarian suffering in Gaza and the escalation in Lebanon are given more space in the declaration than the war in Ukraine — which, given that both wars are major preoccupations for Europe and the US as well, demonstrates that the concerns of emerging powers are taken more seriously.
Behind the scenes: Summit communiqués usually hide the tensions behind the scenes — that’s what the journalistic coverage is for. While the Brazilian presidency aimed to prioritise climate action, poverty reduction, and sustainable development, the summit ended with what France24 refers to as a “Ukraine blame game”.
UK-Brazil cooperation: Brazil is a critical partner for Europeans in addressing the climate crisis — and on energy questions. British Prime Minister Starmer flew back to the UK with a concrete outcome result, namely the “UK-Brazil Clean Energy Finance Mission to launch the Global Clean Power Alliance (GCPA), which aims to accelerate the global clean power transition, building on Brazil’s priorities for the G20 and COP30, including on energy planning and climate goals” (UK-Brazil Joint Statement, 19 November 2024). Expect more EU leaders to look for similar agreements.
The Trump factor: It’s no secret that US President-elect Trump is skeptical of multilateral organisations — and the way Europeans can interact with G20 partners is also affected by this. This edition of the Europe Express newsletter has an overview. Politico even refers to “Trump shock waves ripple[ing] through a fragmented G20”.
Pivotal Powers: How should Europe adapt its approach to become a better cooperation partner for so-called pivotal powers, meaning states in the “Global South” with significant leverage to shape the global order? For Europe’s security cooperation with pivotal powers, a change of tone, flexibility of formats through embracing minilateralism, and a more positive understanding of transactional politics are important starting points, argues this chapter. A full report on innovative engagement strategies with pivotal powers also includes chapters focusing on the realms of global governance and artificial intelligence.