2010 Toronto G20 Summit
For the very first time, the G8 and G20 Summits in early 2010 took place back to back with G8 Leaders meeting in Muskoka, Canada, on 25 June and the G20 meeting in Toronto on June from 26-27.
While G20 discussions and the communiqué focused primarily on economic affairs including trade and fiscal policies, discussions within the G8 focused on aid and development.
Both of these meetings presented an important opportunity for world leaders to reaffirm their commitment to promises made to people living in poverty around the world.
G8 leaders failed to step up efforts on previous G8 commitments particularly the Gleneagles commitments to increase aid by $50billion and double aid to Africa while the G20 could not agree any progressive policies on banking reform such as a proposed Financial Transaction Tax.
Outcomes of the G20 Summit
Development NGOs were hopeful that the G20, in the context of banking reform, would agree to move towards an international financial transaction tax (FTT) that could potentially raise hundreds of billions of dollars annually to deliver the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), support developing countries in their efforts to adapt to the devastating effects of climate change and respond to the impacts of the financial crisis. Unfortunately, the G20 failed to rise to this challenge and the opportunity to raise vital funds has been missed.
Instead of discussing progressive policies, the main outcome of the G20 Summit was a reiteration of previous commitments in the G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth.
Reactions by Bond members and partners to the G8 and G20 Summits:
More international civil society responses to the G8 and the G20 Summits can be found on the SherpaTimes website
