On the eve of the Group of 20 summit in Brazil, the election of Donald Trump as US president has already ratcheted up international efforts on climate change and tax policy, as diplomats from the world’s richest countries struggle to preserve a fragile agreement. threatening.
Argentina and President Javier Millay, close to President Trump, have threatened to block a joint communiqué that is expected to be approved by G20 leaders at the Rio de Janeiro meeting that begins on Monday, citing taxation of the super-wealthy and gender-related objections. People briefed on the negotiations told the Financial Times.
Diplomats were racing to reach final agreements on statements related to geopolitical issues such as climate finance and Russia’s war against Ukraine as leaders began arriving in Brazilian cities, officials said. That’s what it means.
Negotiators from the 20 participating countries, including the European Union and the African Union, said a compromise was circulated for provisional approval on Sunday night, but it was unclear whether all countries would ultimately agree. .
Brazilian officials had expected bilateral negotiations with the Argentine delegation, according to people briefed on the talks.
The struggle to agree on how much developing countries should contribute to financial efforts to combat global warming mirrored negotiations at the United Nations COP29 climate change summit, which is being held at the same time in Baku.
Milley’s stance echoes concerns among many Western diplomats who fear Trump’s election will embolden conservative allies and cause countries to exit ambitious agreements on issues such as global warming. is increasing. President Trump has vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement.
A Brazilian government official said, “(The Argentine government) wants to make the G20 in Brazil a testing ground for old and new powers.” “After a year of negotiations on taxation and agreements, they are calling into question word for word what they previously accepted.”
Buenos Aires’ opposition to the first draft communiqué prepared by representatives of Brazil’s city leaders follows Milley’s meeting with Trump in Florida on Thursday and marks the first time the US president-elect has sought foreign guidance since his election victory. I met with him for the first time.
Argentina was the only country last week to vote against a United Nations resolution condemning online violence against women and girls.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer rejected Milley’s skepticism about climate change and President Trump’s imminent arrival in the White House as a death sentence for global cooperation on the issue. “No, I don’t think so,” he said.
Mr Starmer, who recently returned from UN climate change talks in Baku, told reporters on his way to Rio: “One of the reasons I went to the COP last week was because it was important for the UK to show leadership on key issues.” That’s because I thought so.”
Asked about Argentina’s position, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters in Rio: . . To make this meeting a success. If the G20 splits, it will lose global influence and influence. ”
The Rio summit, in which Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will hold discussions focused on fighting poverty, governance reforms in international institutions and climate change, will be held in the wake of the US election after many countries skipped COP29. For the first time since then, the leaders of the world’s most powerful countries will gather together. Summit.
Many officials attending the event, where Lula is scheduled to launch the Global Alliance Against Hunger, said the event was overshadowed by information that President Trump opposes many of its planned conclusions. I am concerned that this may be the case.
“We should all sit there and talk about the future of global cooperation and pretend that this guy on his way (to the White House) doesn’t care,” said a European official involved in the matter. spoke. Communiqué negotiations. “It’s hard to see how anything decided (here) has any future.”
According to a person briefed on the talks, Argentina objected to the inclusion of language regarding taxation that Millais’ government agreed to at last month’s G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting.
The October declaration stated, “We reiterate our commitment to tax transparency, working together towards a fairer, more inclusive, stable and efficient international tax system fit for the 21st century, and reaffirming our commitment to tax transparency. “We will foster a global dialogue on effective taxation that includes all levels of taxation.” “Individual”.
Officials said Milley also objected to references to the Paris climate accord and a promise to “remain united in pursuing the goals of the accord.” Another point of Argentina’s resistance was the reference to the US 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Mirai withdrew his negotiating team from the COP29 summit this week as the Baku negotiating team struggles to advance a deal to raise more global funds for climate finance.
The struggle to agree on a G20 communiqué has exacerbated existing tensions within the group over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war in the Middle East.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Rio summit, but Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to continue Beijing’s position of blocking Western efforts to blame Moscow for war with its neighbor. There is.
It will also be the last summit for US President Joe Biden, who has sought to leverage multilateral institutions such as NATO, the G7 and the G20 to find responses to issues such as the Ukraine war.
“So what do we do now with all this work that we have done with the United States (under the Biden administration)?” said a senior European diplomat. “We lost control.”
