The G20 holds a summit in Rio de Janeiro

The 19th meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) summit will begin today in Rio de Janeiro.

The G20 is an intergovernmental platform made up of 19 countries that account for roughly 80 to 85% of the world’s GDP, and two-thirds of the population. This summit will mark the first G20 summit held under the Brazil chairmanship. During the two-day summit, attendees of the G20 states will discuss means to adapt to the digitalization of the world economy.

While the G20 has presented concrete resolutions to several global problems such as climate change, world hunger, and COVID 19 vaccination, the future of the organization remains unclear. Deep division amongst member states exist on key foreign policy issues such as the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This divergence brought forth questions to whether the summit continues serves any legitimate purpose. Moving forward, expect the divide between the US and its allies against Russia, and China to deepen during the short-to medium-term. This will likely stall any decisions regarding energy, security, and economics. Instead, the summit will focus on more agreeable items such as climate change.