Meeting of Task Forces proposed by Brasil's G20 presidency with the forum's Sherpa and Finance tracks highlighted priorities such as reducing inequalities and combating climate change. The event reiterated Brasil's role as a leader in global initiatives and demonstrated the evolving integration of the two tracks since the first formal meeting in Brasilia in December 2023.
Representatives from 29 countries and 13 international organizations attended a Sherpas meeting with the Climate and Hunger task forces and the coordinator of the G20 Finance Track, Ambassador Tatiana Rosito. The event highlighted priorities such as reducing inequalities and combating climate change and demonstrated the evolving track integration since the first formal meeting in December 2023, in Brasília.
The choice of location, which houses a building designed by iconic Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, was not just a tribute. The area symbolizes Brasil's complexities, with areas neighboring large favelas, such as Rocinha and Vidigal, reflecting the urgency of tackling socioeconomic inequalities.
The importance of concrete and coordinated actions to face the climate crisis was highlighted at the opening of the meeting. Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, heading the Climate Change Task Force, emphasized the need to integrate this issue into government policies and financial flows. "We need to think outside the box to drive true transformation," he said.
In addition to climate change, the meeting addressed the creation of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. Saulo Arantes Ceolin, general coordinator of Food and Nutrition Security at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministério das Relações Exteriores/MRE), announced that the Task Force has practically completed its work and that a concept paper is ready to be adopted at the next ministerial meeting. "Our goal is to drastically reduce hunger and extreme poverty in the coming years," he said.
Preparing the path to the Summit
Brasil's G20 presidency, through Ambassador and Sherpa Mauricio Lyrio, highlighted the need to face social and racial inequalities-as well as inequality in the access to resources-as part of a broader sustainable development agenda. The event highlighted the need for a joint effort to promote equality and sustainability, reinforcing Brasil's role as a leader in global initiatives.
Lyrio characterized the meeting as a moment to make a general assessment and prepare the way for the second half of Brasil's G20 presidency-in which there will be a concentration of ministerial meetings and the preparation of the Summit of Heads of State that will be held on November 18 and 19, in Rio de Janeiro. "This is the negotiation stage of documents that will be used both in the ministerial and the Leaders' meetings. It is an opportunity to advance the priorities that Brasil has established for the agenda, which so far has been very well received by the other countries," he said.
According to Tatiana Rosito, this joint track effort-unprecedented in the G20- allows work to progress, focusing on the continuous construction of consensus. "The main point here is to keep the Sherpas updated on how the work in the Task Forces and the Finance Track is going. The integration of the Task Forces has significantly boosted the work of the G20. The meeting highlighted the importance of maintaining a continuous and informed dialogue between G20 representatives to reach consensus, and to advance the priorities established by the Brazilian presidency-which include the fight against climate change and hunger," she stated.
With a focus on the urgency of climate action and reducing inequalities, the G20 Sherpas meeting in Rio de Janeiro serves as a reminder of the priorities and challenges that the largest forum for international cooperation seeks to address. The event highlights the importance of an integrated and innovative approach to creating a fairer and more sustainable future at a global level.
