From vaccine sharing to climate, G-7 negotiates performance agreements
FALMOUTH, England (AP) – The Group of Seven Wealthy Democracies have concluded their first face-to-face summit in two years at a seaside resort in southwest England. G-7 leaders – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US – have made commitments on a range of topics, from sharing coronavirus vaccines to tackling climate change and fairer corporate taxation.
Their final agreement from the three-day meeting also included a section on challenging China for “uneconomic” economic practices and calling on Beijing to respect human rights.
Here are details on the main topics they covered:
SHARING VACCINES
Presidents and prime ministers have pledged to share at least 1 billion vaccines with struggling countries over the next year, with deliveries starting in August. US President Joe Biden has pledged 500 million doses. Britain and Canada have pledged 100 million doses each, and France has said it will commit to 60 million doses.
However, the World Health Organization has said 11 billion doses are needed to truly end the pandemic. Public health advocates also argue that promising vaccine doses are not enough, and that money and logistical help are needed to get people immunized in poorer countries.
THE ENVIRONMENT
The leaders pledged to end new direct government support for “relentlessly global thermal coal power generation†– the use of coal without technology to reduce carbon emissions – by the end of the year. year, and supported a $ 2 billion coal transition fund.
They also pledged to conserve or protect at least 30% of their countries’ land and sea areas by 2030 as part of the global biodiversity goals. And they agreed to increase funding for climate change projects until 2025 and reaffirmed their support for a net zero carbon production target by 2050 at the latest.
Major climate groups have said the summit falls short of providing meaningful details. They urged rich countries to move beyond reiterating existing obligations and bringing concrete new climate finance to the table.
CHINA
G-7 leaders have said they will work together to challenge “China’s non-market policies.” Uyghur minority, and in the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong.
US President Joe Biden had wanted to persuade his fellow Democratic leaders to present a more unified front to compete economically with Beijing and firmly denounce China’s “non-market policies and human rights violationsâ€.
The leaders pledged to remove forced labor from global supply chains, “including state-sponsored forced labor of vulnerable groups and minorities.” major supply chains of concern in the Xinjiang region.
CORPORATION TAX
G-7 leaders have approved a global minimum tax of at least 15% on multinational corporations, a measure intended to prevent companies from using tax havens to shift profits and avoid taxes.
Their deal backed a plan outlined earlier by G-7 finance ministers. The seven countries are hoping many more will sign on, but that’s a heavy proposition in countries whose economies rely on using low corporate taxes to attract business.
GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Leaders agreed to an infrastructure proposal called “Build Back Better for the World†that calls for spending hundreds of billions of dollars in collaboration with the private sector to fund greener infrastructure projects in the poorest countries.
It is designed to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which funds a vast infrastructure network spanning much of the world, primarily Asia and Africa.
PREPARING FOR A FUTURE PANDEMIC
Executives said that in the event of a future pandemic, they would seek to ensure the availability of safe and effective vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests within the first 100 days.
Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, said a report on the ‘100-day mission’ gave leaders recommendations to speed up responses to another pandemic, but acknowledged that such a response must be global and include countries that do not belong to the G-7. .
GIRLS ‘EDUCATION
Leaders said COVID-19 has exacerbated underlying inequalities and led to an education crisis, especially for girls. They supported the goal of getting 40 million more girls in school by 2026 in the poorest countries and pledged combined funding of $ 2.75 billion over the next five years for the Global Partnership for Education. ‘education.