When President Biden took office, he committed to restore the United States’ leadership role in the world, rebuild our relationships abroad, and champion an economic agenda at home and abroad to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth for American families—and families everywhere. This week, at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, President Biden continued to deliver on those commitments.
Leading by example and working with partners around the world, the United States and the G20 delivered for developing countries, for our shared planet, and for an inclusive and responsible digital transformation. At a moment when the global economy is suffering from the overlapping shocks of the climate crisis, fragility, and conflict—including the immense suffering unleashed by Russia’s war in Ukraine—this year’s Summit proved that the G20 can still drive solutions to our most pressing issues.
The United States is committed to the G20 and to building on the progress made in India’s G20 Presidency, starting with Brazil’s Presidency in 2024 and South Africa’s Presidency in 2025. In a sign of the President’s steadfast commitment to the G20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation, the United States will host the G20 in 2026. As President Biden called for last year at the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, the United States is also pleased to have supported and now welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20, a reflection of both the G20’s vitality and the important role of Africa in the global economy.
Delivering for Developing Countries
At the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, compounding crises have resulted in a stalling or reversal of development gains. In New Delhi, President Biden and other G20 leaders committed to implement the G20 2023 Action Plan to Accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The United States remains committed to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda, both at home and around the world.
At home, President Biden is rebuilding the American economy from the bottom up and middle out and making historic investments in our infrastructure, our people, and our climate. These policies have enabled the United States to have the strongest recovery of any major economy. As the world’s largest bilateral donor of official development assistance, the United States is working to help develop countries support their development priorities in areas like inclusive growth, infrastructure, education, health and health security, and resilient and sustainable food systems.
Recognizing that public funding alone is not enough, President Biden is championing an ambitious agenda to mobilize significant additional financing for development from all sources—public and private, domestic and international. At the G20, he delivered key elements of that agenda.
- Delivering a better, bigger, more effective World Bank. The United States is championing a major effort to fundamentally reshape the multilateral development banks to meet 21st century challenges. Over the last year, the World Bank, with the backing of the G20, has made meaningful progress in unlocking new financing capacity and advancing operational reforms. Under Ajay Banga’s leadership, the World Bank is set to play a transformative role in addressing global challenges. Last month, President Biden asked Congress for funds to unlock more than $25 billion in World Bank Group concessional financing. In New Delhi, he rallied G20 partners to agree to collectively mobilize more headroom and concessional finance to boost the World Bank’s capacity to support low- and middle-income countries. This initiative will make the Bank a better and bigger institution able to provide resources at the scale and speed needed to tackle global challenges and address the urgent needs of the poorest countries.
- Supporting countries that fall into economic crisis. President Biden called on the G20 as leaders in the global economy to provide meaningful debt relief so that low- and middle-income countries can regain their footing as they seek to recover from compounding economic shocks in the last few years, and invest in critical development needs. Leaders in New Delhi committed to redouble efforts to resolve ongoing debt distress cases—like Ghana and Sri Lanka. President Biden made it clear that the United States expects meaningful progress by the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in October.
- Make financing more sustainable. President Biden pressed leaders to think beyond our current frameworks to provide new solutions to help translate unsustainable debt into transformative investments. The U.S. Development Finance Corporation has provided such financing to facilitate more than $1 billion in debt for nature swaps in the Western Hemisphere and Africa—unlocking funds for countries to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises and to invest in other critical development needs. At the G20, President Biden also pressed all creditors—including the private sector and multilateral development banks—to offer climate resilient debt clauses in their lending. The U.S. Export Import Bank is preparing to do so in select bilateral lending, in line with its governance framework.
- Developing transformative economic corridors and scaling high-quality investments through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI). At an event co-hosted by President Biden and Prime Minister Modi, President Biden and partners announced a landmark India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor that will usher a new era of connectivity from Europe to Asia, facilitating global trade, as well as cooperation on energy and digital connectivity. President Biden also announced a new partnership with the European Union to expand investments in the Lobito Corridor. The President called on partners to deploy public capital to strategically leverage the expertise and financing of the private sector to help secure and diversify 21st century energy supply chains, expand digital connectivity, increase electricity access, bolster food security, and strengthen health systems.
Working for a Just Peace in Ukraine
President Biden is engaging with countries around the world in pressing for a just peace in Ukraine based on sovereignty and territorial integrity. One and a half years after Russia’s illegal and unjustified aggression against Ukraine, G20 leaders joined President Biden in welcoming efforts to secure “a just peace that upholds all the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter.” G20 leaders emphasized that countries must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against any state’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. G20 leaders also united in highlighting the human suffering and severe economic impacts of the war against Ukraine. The statement highlighted that major economies from around the world – including Brazil, India, South Africa – are united in the need for Russia to uphold international law including territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Delivering on Food Security
Since the beginning of his Administration, President Biden has made global food security a priority and galvanized collective action to respond to the global food crisis. The United States has committed more than $15.2 billion in critical humanitarian assistance and medium- to long-term food security investments around the world. These investments have helped countries address acute needs and avert famine, as well as diversify their supply chains. At the G20, President Biden championed an agenda focused on mitigating the acute food crises the world is facing today, as well as working together with G20 countries to mitigate against future shocks.
- Addressing the food security crisis exacerbated by Russia’s unlawful war in Ukraine. Russia has intensified its attack on global food security with its July decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI)—which was responsible for nearly 33 million tons of food exports, about two-thirds of which went directly to middle- and lower-income countries—and its attacks on Ukraine’s port infrastructure to prevent Ukrainian grain shipments from getting to those who need it most. The United States continues to lead the charge to mitigate the impact of Russia’s invasion on world food security and to provide food assistance to the most vulnerable populations in the world. In addition to the more than $15.2 billion that the United States has provided since 2021 to address famine and food insecurity, the Biden-Harris Administration and G7 leaders have rallied the world to contribute an additional over $4.5 billion for acute and medium to long term food security assistance, half of which came from the United States. At the G20, President Biden was unequivocal in calling on Russia to stop weaponizing food, which is causing immense human suffering around the world. G20 leaders united to call for the full, timely and effective implementation of the BSGI.
- Building more resilient food systems to mitigate against future food shocks. Collective G20 action is necessary to help address global food, climate, and supply chain shocks, prevent hunger and build more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient agriculture and food systems. In New Delhi, President Biden joined G20 leaders in committing to keep food supply chains and trade open, including for agricultural inputs like fertilizer and seeds; adopt and expand climate-smart agricultural practices; invest in critical agricultural infrastructure; promote innovative agricultural research and innovation; and use digital technology to help lower production and transportation costs and diversify access to new global food markets.
Delivering on Global Health Challenges
The United States is the world’s largest bilateral donor for global health and is committed to working alongside the G20 to build a safer, more equitable future. This includes working together to invest in health equity through vaccine distribution, expanding and improving access to health systems, and facilitating the availability of quality services to historically marginalized groups. It also includes strengthening health systems and institutions; combatting infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, and accelerating efforts towards universal health coverage.
- Improving pandemic preparedness and response. Last year, President Biden galvanized the world to help launch a new Pandemic Fund to fill critical gaps in pandemic preparedness and global health security, committing $450 million and unlocking an additional $1 billion in initial contributions from nearly two dozen countries and philanthropies. This year, the Pandemic Fund is a reality, and recently concluded its first call for proposals, approving $338 million in grants to 37 countries across 6 regions to strengthen disease surveillance and early warning systems and laboratories. In New Delhi, President Biden made it clear that the G20 cannot lose its focus on improving pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response. To this end, he has committed an additional $250 million in planned funds to the Pandemic Fund.
- Building stronger health systems. As we emerge from the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries’ health systems are struggling to restore access to basic services, like routine childhood immunization and maternal health care. To help the world get back on track, President Biden launched the Global Health Worker Initiative in 2022, recognizing that a health workforce that is supported, equipped, and protected is necessary to reclaim lost ground from the pandemic and prepare for future health threats. President Biden urged G20 leaders to commit to reverse the first global decline in life expectancy in more than seven decades. G20 leaders committed to work together to strengthen primary health care and restore essential health services to better than pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2025.
- Tackling the overdose crisis: G20 leaders came together for the first time to elevate counternarcotics challenges, and synthetic drugs in particular, as a G20 priority. Leaders recognized the shared public health threats posed by synthetic drugs and committed to enhanced information sharing and capacity building to address these challenges, advancing the critical actions the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to address the overdose crisis at home.
Delivering for Our Planet
Building a clean energy economy here at home is one of President Biden’s top priorities. But climate change is an issue that requires global action, and the G20 is collectively responsible for about 80 percent of global emissions. In New Delhi, President Biden secured commitments to ensure the G20 continues to set its collective ambition high to address the climate crisis.
- Tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030. At home, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to increase investments in clean energy technologies. Outside estimates report that the IRA has already created more than 170,000 jobs and will create 1.5 million over the next decade. And the IRA will expand clean energy supply, speed global adoption, and drive down technology costs by as much as 25 percent globally. I In New Delhi, President Biden and G20 leaders committed to pursue efforts to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, encouraging more countries to follow the IRA playbook of investing in clean energy manufacturing and deployment, creating jobs, and fighting climate change.
- Recognizing the need to peak global emissions by 2025. President Biden successfully urged the G20 to join together in acknowledging, for the first time, the need to peak global emissions by no later than 2025, and in recognizing the to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent by 2030, and 60 percent by 2035, relative to 2019 levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that these actions are critical to achieving global net zero greenhouse gas emissions/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century and limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- Encouraging countries to incorporate economy-wide targets covering all greenhouse gases into their nationally determined contributions. G20 nations have the ability to reduce their emissions in a way that meaningfully supports the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and its temperature goals. With President Biden’s leadership, G20 countries for the first time urged all countries to include economy-wide targets covering all greenhouse gases in upcoming cycles for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
- Launching the Global Biofuels Alliance. Sustainable biofuels are critical to facilitating net zero by 2050. Advanced biofuels can be sustainably produced from abundant organic material—and supplied by reliable trading partners like the United States. In New Delhi, the G20 Presidency launched the Global Biofuels Alliance with the United States as a founding member along with India, Brazil, Italy, Canada, Argentina, and South Africa. This new Alliance will bring countries together to expand and create new markets for sustainable biofuels.
Delivering an Inclusive and Responsible Digital Transformation
The digital transformations underway offer the potential to improve the lives of our citizens if they are harnessed responsibly and in a way that drives broadly shared growth. In order to realize the benefits of these technologies, President Biden believes it is necessary to address the barriers to inclusive access and to shape regulatory and governance approaches to maximize their benefits while mitigating their risks. This is the agenda that he championed in New Delhi.
- Harnessing AI responsibly, for good and for all. President Biden championed an approach to AI that includes a commitment to responsible AI development, deployment, and use, to leverage AI to solve pressing challenges while protecting people’s rights and safety.
- Cutting the digital gender divide in half by 2030. Globally, approximately 260 million more men than women were using the internet in 2022—a divide that undermines women’s full participation in the 21st century economy. President Biden successfully secured a commitment from G20 leaders to halve the digital gender gap by 2030. To help meet this commitment, the United States announced a Women in the Digital Economy Initiative, convening partners from government, the private sector, and civil society to accelerate efforts to close the gender digital divide.
- Improving access to digital services to boost sustainable and inclusive growth. President Biden joined other G20 leaders in taking steps towards unlocking the benefits of digital public infrastructure (DPI), stressing the importance of prioritizing secure, inclusive, and accountable approaches to DPI, built and leveraged by both the public and private sectors, that respect human rights and protect personal data, privacy, and intellectual property rights.
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