13 July 2009
editorial
Johannesburg — IT WAS almost a summit in waiting, rather than a summit in itself. The Group of Eight (G-8) meeting in the Italian town of L'Aquila last week drew world leaders from industrial and developing countries -- far more than eight of them. And it discussed all the important global challenges, from the economic crisis to climate change to poverty to nuclear arms.
But its efforts to get countries to agree on climate change were in a way just an input to the big Copenhagen meeting in December, when the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is due to convene. And the G-8's deliberations on the world economy felt secondary to those of the G-20 leaders, who are due to convene again in Pittsburgh in September, to follow up on their London summit in April.
So for all the fanfare and the photo ops of smiling global leaders, the G-8 had that has-been feeling. And that was heightened by the fact that the eight-some was in fact only one of several permutations and combinations at L'Aquila. So, for example, climate change was discussed both by the G-8 and by another larger grouping, the Major Economies Forum on energy and climate.
There was also, for the first time, a joint G-8-Africa statement, which came out of a meeting between the eight industrialised countries, eight African countries and the African Union . And particular countries came in on particular aspects of the meeting -- Australia, Korea and Indonesia were part of the talks on global trade, for example, even though they are not in the G-8 .
But most significant for SA, which went to L'Aquila as one of five leading developing countries (the G-5), is that from day two of last week's meeting, the G-8 effectively ceased to meet on its own, joining up instead with the G-5. That combination is now to become a more permanent, structured grouping which in effect replaces the original, rich man's club of eight industrialised countries. to the 1970s. And whatever else L'Aquila may or may not have achieved, that transition represents a big step forward for SA and its emerging market colleagues in the G-5.
The original seven industrialised countries started meeting in the 1970s, adding Russia to make it eight during the 1990s. Then there was the G-20 industrialised and emerging market finance ministers and central bankers who began meeting in the wake of the late 1990s Asian crisis. That G-20 has taken on a much more prominent role in the past year, with leaders coming together in an effort to sort out the global financial and economic crisis. But even when the G-20 heads of government earlier this year, there was still a sense that the eight rich countries were going to go off to Italy to plan their own little schemes and do their own lobbying. SA, along with China, India, Brazil and Mexico (the G-5), was determined to prevent this. And its efforts to ensure a voice for developing countries in global forums clearly is yielding results. For that reason alone, President Jacob Zuma must have returned to SA a reasonably satisfied man. And that SA is so present and so prominent at these forums is important in itself.
But did this particular forum achieve anything? The summit did commit the leaders to concluding the stalled Doha trade round and that's important, assuming they can get it to happen. Some progress was made in getting agreement on climate change targets, though not nearly enough. There was also at least some progress on getting world leaders to agree to apply sanctions against Iran if Iran doesn't cut back on its nuclear adventures. But there was not much progress towards getting agreement on a stimulus package to get the global economy going -- indeed Germany and the US seem as far apart on this as they ever were.
On the issues that matter most directly to us, however, the L'Aquila meeting came up with some agreements that could make a difference if the G-8 countries do actually deliver. They recognised their responsibility to help the poorest and most vulnerable countries withstand the global crisis. They agreed to try (again) to come up with the development aid they promised at their 2005 Gleneagles summit. And they promised $20bn for food security. SA and its peers will have to hold them to it.
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