13 Nov Brazil’s G20 Summit: Bridging Global North-South Relations?
As this year’s G20 President, Brazil is gearing up to host this year’s G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro next week. The summit will welcome leaders from 19 of the world’s largest economies, the EU and the African Union, to discuss international economic stability, climate change and other pressing global issues.
Entering the summit with high ambitions, Brazil hopes to use the gathering to tie-off a year’s worth of work, pushing forth agreements around advancing the energy transition, sustainable development and global governance reform, and fighting hunger, poverty and inequality. But in doing so, can Brazil succeed in its overarching goal of amplifying the voice and aims of the ‘Global South’ within global decision-making, in turn taking key steps to bridge the expertise, resource and influence gap in current North-South dynamics? If so, what might success look like when it comes to bridging this gap, and more broadly re-invigorating North-South relations?
A Foot in Both Camps
When it comes to building North-South consensus, Brazil is well-placed in its efforts. A key emerging power, friend-to-many, and host of not only the G20 Presidency, but the incoming presidencies of both the BRICS and COP30, Brazil seeks to present itself as a peer when engaging with the ‘established powers’ in the G20 and beyond. At the same time, Brazil positions itself as a voice of the Global South, seeking to strengthen the Global South’s position at the table and to use this duality to secure progress on key sticking points, from development financing, to global governance and trade practice reform.
The breadth of good relations that Brazil enjoys under President Lula also holds promise in facilitating the delivery of some constructive outcomes. This stands in stark comparison with India’s 2023 presidency, which saw its New Delhi Summit distracted by the souring of India-China relations, Brazil has sought to avoid distractions and maintain broad bilateral relations. Brazil instead channels a policy of ‘active non-alignment’, adopted by many in the Global South who wish to avoid ostensibly ‘choosing sides’ in global power divides. At a Summit expected to be dominated by geopolitical tensions, a cooperative and practical President holds promise for ushering in some concrete global initiatives.
Reshaping Global Governance
Brazil has been amplifying conversations around the evolution of global governance in the run up to the Summit. From improving the inclusivity of global governance (not least the UN Security Council), to debt restructuring and providing better support to achieve the SDGs, securing global governance reform will be at the forefront of the Summit. Importantly, it is not only the Global South calling for the revival and strengthening of multilateralism, with UK Development Minister Anneliese Dodds naming reform as one of Labour’s top four development priorities. Brazil has the opportunity to capitalise on this momentum, and having an active advocate at the head of the table may well shift the dial. Moreover, the representation of the African Union at the table for the first time may provide the impetus for clearer action around diversifying decision-making.
If Brazil is able to mobilise action on these fronts – e.g. on regional equality across the boards of multilateral development banks (MDBs), or on proposed ‘country platforms’ (MDB programmes tailored to countries’ specific development needs) – it could dispel some of the Global South’s fatigue and pave the way for a restoration of fracturing Global North-South relations.
Wider Priorities
Brazil will also seek consensus on a wide range of other priorities. Tackling climate change will be front and centre, with negotiators set to consider the recommendations recently released by the presidency’s Task Force for Global Mobilisation Against Climate Change. Further discussions will aim to create a conducive political environment to agree a robust climate finance goal at COP29 in Azerbaijan which is happening concurrently. If Brazil, as a key international partner for many, a mediator, and, critically, an actor keen to resume its leadership role in the climate arena, can make quantifiable progress on mobilising finance, it will be a key first step in the restoration of trust in the climate pledges of developed states.
A second priority will be on mobilising resources, expertise, and political will to reduce hunger and poverty globally. Reduction in inequality is a hallmark of the current Brazilian government, which is driving the creation of more diverse clusters of investment, education, digital connectivity and R&D within its own borders. Brazil’s presidency has already ushered in the Manaus Declaration, on expanding international cooperation, support and knowledge-sharing for developing nations across science, technology, and innovation, which can in turn be used to address food insecurity or climate change. Knowledge- and technology-transfer sit at the heart of development assistance, and tangible commitments to bridge the expertise gap could make a real difference across the Global South.
A Global South Troika
Brazil’s Presidency is also operating within a ‘Global South Troika’ (the system of past, present, and next G20 presidencies cooperating to ensure a seamless transition between hosts). India’s 2023 presidency was the first time the Troika consisted of only Global South countries, (Indonesia-India-Brazil), while 2024’s welcomes India, Brazil and South Africa. Across this four-year stretch, the Global South has an unprecedented opportunity to shape the G20 agenda, collaborating to set the parameters for discussions for leaders of developed countries. Both 2023 and 2024 presidencies have gone a long way in championing issues at the heart of the Global South, but now Brazil has the opportunity to crown its presidency with efforts to both harness that momentum.
Likelihood for Success
Hard as Brazil may try though, geopolitical tensions, heightened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ongoing conflict across the Middle East, and now the re-election of former President Donald Trump, all threaten transnational cooperation on already thorny issues. Already, political divisions have prevented many of the ministerial meetings held earlier in the year from producing collective communiqués or outcome documents – raising concerns about the likelihood of substantial agreements at the summit.
But the prime issues of focus – including tackling poverty, hunger and climate change – could well gain traction, given they tend to fall outside the remit of conflict between hostile powers. As does global governance reform, and action on this would reaffirm the importance of diversifying leadership roles, as well as deliver meaningful changes.
Ultimately, the summit will test the duality of Brazil’s twin ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ identities. We must wait and see how successfully Brazil can bridge different interests and bring consensus.
