G20 leaders recognise that the global health and economic crisis has affected billions of lives and puts at risk progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
“We are in a race against time to put in place action plans to deliver on G20 commitments. 575 million jobs are needed by 2030 to stabilise the economy, with just transition plans to create climate-friendly jobs and keep the world on a pathway to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” said Sharan Burrow, general secretary, ITUC.
COVID-19 vaccine: There is support for global vaccinations, with the aim of vaccinating 40% of the population in all countries by the end of 2021, and 70% by mid-2022, as recommended by the World Health Organization, but universal access to vaccines requires fundamental changes to intellectual property rights and investment in vaccine manufacturing in developing countries.
Environment and climate action: There is recognition of action required to protect biodiversity, reduce methane gasses and act on climate this decade, but with no agreed exit from fossil fuels. We need national action plans with jobs, just transition measures and finance that meet the test of the Paris Agreement.
Support for vulnerable countries: The $100 billion goal for rechanneling of Special Drawing Rights (SDR), and the support for the Resilience and Sustainability Trust Fund, are signs of good progress, but these should be the absolute minimum, and other options and a larger reallocation are needed.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment: Commitments to gender equality are noted; however, G20 leaders are reminded that urgent action is needed, as women lost $800 billion in income during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the equivalent of the combined wealth of 98 countries.
Employment and social protection: Reinforcing the need for social dialogue and jobs, with social protection and just transition, is an important step which requires national job plans and just transition plans. Support for a Global Social Protection Fund is critical for realising social protection for the world’s poorest countries.
“G20 commitments to a human-centred recovery and decent work are important to building the new social contract. The G20, under the presidency of Indonesia in 2022, must ensure that engagement with the L20 and social partners is central to discussions in order to rebuild trust with working people through accountability and measurable actions,” said Sharan Burrow.
