These are the most important topics at the G20 meeting

As the host country, Italy wants to send a strong signal in favor of climate protection – also because negotiations will start again at the World Climate Conference in Glasgow from Sunday. The 1.5-degree target should be encouraged and a common roadmap for an emission-free world should be drawn up. The goal is already shaky before the start of the G20 summit: India announced in advance that it was not planning any new restrictions on emissions – and that it would not announce a fixed date for climate neutrality.

India is the third largest emitter of CO2 in the world. “We are dependent on coal and will continue to be,” said India’s Minister for the Environment. 70 percent of the electricity mix is ​​made up of coal, only 18 percent are renewable energies. The negotiators are still hopeful. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi already spoke to Indian President Narendra Modi’s conscience at a bilateral meeting on Friday. Chancellor Angela Merkel will also meet Modi.

Germany wants to become climate neutral by 2045, twelve of the G20 countries and the EU want to be climate neutral by 2050. The global climate targets can only be met if China (responsible for more than 30 percent of all CO2 emissions), India (around seven percent) and Russia (4.6 percent) also participate. China and Russia have so far targeted the year 2060. India continues to hold back with a specific date.

“If we do not manage to tackle climate change, we could see our world, our civilization move backwards and future generations will be condemned to a life that is far less comfortable than ours,” urged British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday . There could be mass migration, water scarcity and conflicts.

Corona vaccinations: no schedule

The health and finance ministers of the G20 countries met on Friday and took the first important hurdle: The commitment to supply around 70 percent of humanity across all income groups with corona vaccine by mid-2022 is in place. What is missing so far is a concrete plan for implementation and funding. The heads of state and government will have to negotiate this today if the topic is on the agenda at lunchtime.

While around 70 percent of the population is already vaccinated in rich countries, it is estimated to be between two and four percent in poor countries. The British Prince Harry and his wife Meghan wrote an open letter to the G20 on Friday together with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization: Some countries still do not have enough vaccine to vaccinate their health workers.

Only three percent of the nearly seven billion vaccine doses administered were administered in poor countries. “Cooperation of historic proportions is the only solution,” the letter said. 550 million vaccine doses would be missing to ensure that at least 40 percent of the world’s population is vaccinated by the end of the year.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who will also accompany the Chancellor in the bilateral talks as the future successor, hoped that the G20 summit could lay the groundwork for “that further countries will continue to contribute to a larger extent everywhere there are enough vaccines ”.

World trade: chip shortages and gas prices

In Rome not only the largest energy consumers on the planet meet – but also Russia and Saudi Arabia, the largest producers of oil and natural gas. Rising electricity and gas prices will therefore also come on the table. While the UN and environmental organizations see the blame for the price explosion in the extreme dependence on fossil fuels, consumers, above all the USA, are calling for production in the exporting countries to be ramped up. Russian President Putin has already promised that the state-owned company Gazprom will supply Europe with all the gas that should be needed. It cannot be ruled out that there will be an overall agreement on this among the G20 countries.

The fight against the semiconductor shortage is just as urgent. Chips are missing everywhere, in cars as well as in smartphones. Entire industries threaten to be blocked, at the same time the lack of chips is slowing the upswing after the corona crisis. Europe and the US are working on plans to become less dependent on Asian suppliers. In Rome, however, US President Biden in particular will also try to strengthen the existing supply chains with Asian partners. Result: uncertain.

Security situation: Afghanistan and Iran agreements

Italian Prime Minister Draghi convened a special virtual summit on Afghanistan two and a half weeks ago. At that time, the G20 countries agreed on a “coordinated response” in order to combat the humanitarian crisis in the country. This “answer” should run through the United Nations. International donors such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund could also operate under the UN umbrella. It is quite possible that the G20 will agree on further details or make new financial commitments.

One topic that is not being negotiated in large groups is the Iran Agreement. According to reports, Chancellor Merkel is supposed to consult with French President Emmanuel Macron and Great Britain’s Prime Minister Johnson on Saturday about how the agreement can still be saved, which is supposed to prevent the country from building an atomic bomb. The USA had unilaterally terminated the agreement under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump.

Merkel will also speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The core of the meeting will probably be the diplomatic crisis that has just been averted. Germany and other Western countries loudly demanded the release of human rights activist Osman Kavala, who had been imprisoned for four years. Erdogan forbade interfering in domestic political affairs – and threatened to expel nine ambassadors.

In the end, the scandal was prevented. But as long as Kavala remains in custody, the subject is not off the table. Merkel’s negotiating skills are required here: the EU depends on Erdogan for the refugee deal.

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