G20 Leaders Agree to 'Sustainable and Green' Recovery

At the close of their summit meeting in London, the 20 leaders committed to make available a $1.1 trillion program of support in addition to their national economic stimulus packages.

The leaders agreed to repair the financial system to restore lending; strengthen financial regulation to rebuild trust; fund and reform our international financial institutions to overcome this crisis and prevent future ones; and promote global trade and investment and reject protectionism to underpin prosperity.

The G20 leaders (Photo courtesy G20)

In their communique, the leaders said, "We agreed to make the best possible use of investment funded by fiscal stimulus programmes towards the goal of building a resilient, sustainable, and green recovery."

"We will make the transition towards clean, innovative, resource efficient, low carbon technologies and infrastructure. We encourage the MDBs [multilateral development banks] to contribute fully to the achievement of this objective," the leaders agreed, adding, "We will identify and work together on further measures to build sustainable economies."

In addition, the G20 leaders stated, "We reaffirm our commitment to address the threat of irreversible climate change, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and to reach agreement at the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December 2009."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is encouraged by their recognition of the strong links between tackling the economic turmoil, food security and climate change.

"In that regard, G20 leaders promised to make resources available for social protection and investments in long term food security, and stated their commitment to address the threat of irreversible climate change," Ban said. "Importantly, they pledged to reach agreement at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen later this year."

The G20 nations today also “reaffirmed previous commitments to increase aid and help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals,” Ban said, referring to the ambitious anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline, which include environmental sustainability, clean water and sanitation.

"I am pleased that G20 leaders have committed themselves to a $1.1 trillion package," said Ban. "But it will be critical that the share of this going to the poorer countries is delivered."

President Barack Obama called the London G20 Summit an historic meeting. "It was historic because of the size and scope of the challenges we face, and because of the timeliness and magnitude of our response," he said.

President Barack Obama answers a question during the news conference following the G20 summit. (Photo by Pete Souza courtesy The White House)

To foster sustainable development, President Obama said the United States is ready to take the lead in "protecting those who don’t always have a voice at the G-20, but who have suffered greatly in this crisis."

"In the coming days, I will work with Congress to provide $448 million in immediate assistance to vulnerable populations, and to double support for agricultural development to over $1 billion so that we are giving people the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty," said Obama. "We will also support the United Nations and World Bank as they coordinate the rapid assistance necessary to prevent humanitarian catastrophe."

"This is not just charity though," said Obama. "These are future markets for all countries, and future drivers of growth."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, "This is the day the world came together to fight back against the global recession. Not with words, but with a Global Plan for Recovery and Reform and a clear timetable for its delivery."

"Today, we have reached a new consensus: that we take global action together to deal with the problems we all face together; that we will do whatever is necessary to restore growth and jobs; we will take the essential action to rebuild confidence and trust in our financial system and to prevent a crisis such as this from ever happening again," said the prime minister.

President of the European Commission Jose Barroso said, "We have committed to a sustainable, low carbon recovery for all. We need action to make sure the poorest of the world do not pay for a crisis created elsewhere – we are ensuring a development stimulus.

"The decisions taken today are much more ambitious than was expected. That is the result of hard work but also of the spirit in which the discussions were conducted," said Barroso. This is not a collection of individual initiatives but a collective action."

"We have said what we will do; now we will do what we say," Barroso pledged.

London police break up the climate demonstrators' camp. (Photo by Mike Russell)

A man taking part in G20 protests on Wednesday was found dead after collapsing at a protest camp near the Bank of England in central London. Police gave no further details as to the circumstances of the man's death, but demonstrators said "he died inside a police cordon (or kettle) where police had crushed and baton charged protesters."

The case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. A solidarity demonstration was held today.

The Metropolitan Police said that a total of 32 people were arrested Wednesday after protesters smashed windows of the Royal Bank of Scotland and clashed with police.

Thousands of people gathered outside the Bank of England, Royal Exchange and Royal Bank of Scotland in the financial center of London and camped there to express their anger at the "irresponsible," "reckless" bankers who pocket bonuses even when banks were plunged into difficulty.

Others set up tents in the streets of London and camped to urge the G20 leaders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate change. Some 2,000 people set up a Camp for Climate Action in the middle of the Square Mile, closing a major road for 12 hours to urge action to stop global warming.

The camp was located outside the European Climate Exchange on Bishopsgate, to protest against the G20's plans to use what the demonstrators believe are "deeply flawed carbon trading mechanisms to tackle climate change."

Throughout the day there were street workshops on themes such as the absurdity of carbon trading, the history of social movements and alternative economic models.

Despite assurances made on Tuesday morning by Commander Bob Broadhurst of the Metropolitan Police to climate campers in the office of David Howarth MP, at 7 pm London time Wednesday, riot police attacked the camp, injuring campers and bystanders who were not allowed to leave the area. Around midnight, riot police again moved in and dispersed the camp.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.