The G20 is the forum for economic cooperation among the world’s 19 largest economies, along with the European Union, and as of 2023, the African Union. With an annual rotating presidency, the G20 operates in yearly cycles, involving various ministerial and technical meetings that culminate in the summit of heads of state and government. In Brazil, the G20 summit will be held in Rio de Janeiro on November 18th and 19th, 2024.
History of the G20
The group was established in the context of the Asian economic crisis, which spread to other emerging markets in the late 1990s. The G20 was created as an informal forum for coordination among Ministers of Economy and Finance and Central Bank leaders.
The macroeconomic imbalance, originating and spreading in Asia and Latin America, highlighted the necessity of including developing countries in discussions concerning international economic and financial stability, thereby expanding discussions that were previously held only within the scope of the G7/G8.
Elevated to a summit meeting since 2008, following the most severe global economic crisis since 1929, the group’s significance is evident in numbers: its members collectively represent approximately 85% of the world’s GDP, over 75% of international trade, and about two-thirds of the global population.
While in the past, the group emerged to provide responses to crises, today it serves as a privileged space to anticipate instabilities and create joint solutions in areas ranging from trade to tourism, culture to climate change.
G20 in Brazil
For Brazil, leadership within the G20 represents an opportunity for international reintegration through a high-level economic forum in which the country has traditionally made active contributions. This potential for leadership extends beyond the G20, as Brazil will subsequently host COP30 in 2025.
Under the Brazilian presidency, the G20 adopts the motto “Building a Fair World and a Sustainable Planet,” focusing on three priority themes: energy transition, fair sustainable development (with an emphasis on combating hunger, poverty, and inequality), and reform of multilateral institutions.
Affirming its commitment, Brazil announced the creation of two work-force for the G20 – the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and the Global Mobilization against Climate Change –, and an initiative of bioeconomy. Finance-related discussions, coordinated by the Ministry of Finance, will address topics such as financing to combat climate change, national debt renegotiation, tax progressivity, and reform of the governance of international financial institutions.
The G20, both in its composition and scope, holds the potential to shape the history of Brazilian foreign policy, creating a positive legacy starting from the Rio de Janeiro Summit, the capital of the G20.
G20 in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro expects to host 41 events in November According to a survey by the Visit Rio foundation, these events are expected to generate R$432.5 million for the local economy. Of the total, 13 are directly linked to the G20, with an expected economic impact of R$32.6 million and revenue of R$1.6 million in Service Tax (ISS).
Highlights of the calendar include the Social Summit, the Giga Climate Mural Workshop, the Urban 20 Summit, the 1st Municipal Planning Forum: Sustainable Cities, the Oceans 20 Summit, the Munich Security Conference and the T20 Think Tanks meetings. These events not only attract international attention, but also provide significant momentum for the local economy.
Source: G20