By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
DEADLOCKED CLIMATE negotiations and deep divisions over the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East take center stage as G20 leaders convene in Rio de Janeiro.
The summit, hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has drawn global attention, especially as climate action lags and geopolitical tensions escalate.
Lula, 79, is championing bold initiatives, including a “Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty” and higher taxes on billionaires.
These priorities reflect his broader agenda of addressing inequality and climate change.
However, the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have intensified debates among the world’s major economies, with some nations pushing to revise the draft summit communiqué.
The summit coincides with stalled UN climate talks in Azerbaijan, where disputes over funding for developing nations have stymied progress.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on G20 members, responsible for 80% of global emissions, to lead by example in breaking the deadlock.
Tensions rose further after US President Joe Biden approved the use of long-range missiles by Ukraine to target Russia, prompting European allies to reconsider their positions.
Biden, attending his final G20 summit, is keen to solidify his climate legacy, insisting during a visit to the Amazon that his policies would endure despite the possibility of Donald Trump returning to the White House.
The absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, underscores the geopolitical fractures within the G20.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s prominent role marks a significant shift in global leadership dynamics.
Security in Rio is heightened following an attempted bombing of Brazil’s Supreme Court in Brasilia by a far-right extremist last week.
Lula has called for the summit to remain focused on issues affecting the world’s poorest populations, emphasizing that poverty and climate change are priorities beyond the wars.
This year’s extreme weather events, including Brazil’s worst wildfire season in over a decade, add urgency to the climate agenda.
Yet, divisions persist, with rich nations demanding that countries like China and Gulf states contribute more to the $1 trillion annual fund needed for developing countries to combat global warming.
At last year’s G20 summit in India, leaders advocated tripling renewable energy sources by 2030 but avoided concrete commitments to phase out fossil fuels.
The Rio meeting seeks to push beyond those limitations, though resistance from some delegations, including Argentina’s, may complicate consensus.
As the summit unfolds, the world watches for breakthroughs in addressing the overlapping crises of climate, poverty, and conflict, with Brazil at the forefront of a global push for equity and sustainability.
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