Lots of progress… on paper.
Aid to vulnerable countries impacted by the Covid-19 health crisis, environment, post-Brexit disputes: the draft final press release of the G 20 summit, which AFP was able to consult, contains promising agreements.
The summit, which was held this Saturday and Sunday in Rome, Italy, has in any case allowed some countries to settle their scores and others to strengthen their cooperation.
The Parisian takes stock.
Towards the end of international taxation
On Saturday, the heads of state and government present at the G20 approved the historic agreement on international tax reform.
Its goal: to put an end to tax havens by forcing multinationals to a minimum world tax of 15% on their profits.
The agreement on the implementation of this tax was concluded at the beginning of October, under the aegis of the OECD, by 136 countries representing more than 90% of world GDP.
The reform should allow these countries to generate around 150 billion dollars in additional revenue per year thanks to this minimum tax.
A customs agreement on steel and aluminum
The United States and the European Union have agreed to end a trade dispute over steel and aluminum and are now entering "a new era of transatlantic cooperation," trumpeted US President Joe Biden on Sunday.
Next to him, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen hailed "an important step" in relations between Brussels and Washington.
The two powers also intend to negotiate a major agreement in this sector, taking into account climate change and intended to fight competition from low-cost Chinese steel.
Today's agreement with the US is good for European jobs and good for the climate.
And it is a global first in our efforts to decarbonise production and trade in steel and aluminum worldwide.
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- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 31, 2021
A "stronger language" for the climate
G20 decision-makers managed to agree this Sunday, the opening day of COP26 in Scotland, on slightly more ambitious climate commitments than those in the Paris agreement.
According to the final draft of the summit that AFP was able to consult, the G20 - which represents nearly 80% of global polluting emissions - goes a little further than the objective of the Paris agreement.
Read also Global warming: the world no longer has the right to make mistakes as COP26 opens
The Paris agreement is to "keep the average increase in temperatures well below 2 degrees and continue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels", that of the G 20 insists on the need to obtain “meaningful and effective actions and commitments from all countries” to achieve this goal.
A "stronger language", congratulate two negotiators ... Provided it is followed up.
London and Paris talk about fishing
After weeks of growing tension, the fishing crisis dominated an interview between Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson on Sunday, against the backdrop of relations at the lowest between London and Paris.
The French president calls for "de-escalation" and the British Prime Minister insists on withdrawing threats of reprisals from Paris in what is currently the biggest dispute between the two countries.
Other areas of contention such as the Australian submarine affair, the illegal crossing of the Channel by migrants and the implementation of Brexit punctuate this tense relationship.
For now, the Elysee and Downing Street have given two quite different versions of the discussion between the two leaders, who are expected to speak at separate press conferences this Sunday afternoon.
$ 100 billion for vulnerable countries
The G20 countries pledge to return to vulnerable countries $ 100 billion of the global amount of $ 650 billion in special drawing rights (SDRs) issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to face the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We welcome recent pledges worth around $ 45 billion as a step towards a total global ambition of $ 100 billion in voluntary contributions for countries most in need," the leaders said. .
For sustainable economic recovery in the countries that need our support, the G20 States can, with the IMF, collectively share 100 billion dollars.
France is committed to doing this.
Other G20 members are joining us.
I call on our partners to do the same.
- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 30, 2021
The G 20 will no longer finance coal plants by the end of 2021
G20 members will stop subsidizing new coal-fired power plant projects abroad this year, according to the draft final communiqué consulted by AFP.
"We will end the granting of international public funding for new coal-fired power plants by the end of 2021", indicates the text, which does not, however, give an objective for the abandonment of coal on a national level.