Cooperation and Partnerships

The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an international forum for governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union. G20 members represent: 85% of global GDP; 75% of international trade; Two-thirds of the world’s population, including United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Australia; China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Argentina, South Africa, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey; and European Union.

G20 organizes the following activities:

1. Annual Leaders’ Summit: Heads of state/government meet to set priorities.
2. Ministerial Meetings: Finance, environment, health, and other ministers meet throughout the year.
3. Working Groups

Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) (South Africa, 2025)

PRIORITY 1: BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION Expected outcomes:

1. Sharing of experiences in updating NBSAPs and national reports to incorporate key elements, goals and targets of the GBF.
2. Piloting Biodiversity Economy Voluntary Sustainability Standards.
3. Mainstreaming of Biodiversity CSU in ongoing efforts under the AfCFTA Agreement.
4. Developing national models for Biodiversity Accounts.
5. Establishing and operationalising technical and scientific cooperation support centres in G20 countries for the implementation of the GBF.

G20 Rio de Janeiro Leaders’ Declaration (2024)

55. We reaffirm the commitment to the swift, full, and effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) adopted at the COP15 to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and encourage other countries to do the same. We stress the importance of Parties to the CBD updating or revising national biodiversity strategies and action plans in alignment with the KM-GBF and its goals and targets as soon as possible and we call for enhanced financial resources from all sources. We look forward to a successful conclusion of the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) that will take place in Riyadh in December 2024.

56. Recognizing that forests provide crucial ecosystem services, as well as for climate purposes acting as sinks, we stress the importance of scaling up efforts to protect, conserve and sustainably manage forests and combat deforestation, including through enhanced efforts towards halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, highlighting the contributions of these actions for sustainable development and taking into account the social and economic challenges of local communities as well as Indigenous Peoples. In the context of forests, we will avoid discriminatory green economic policies, consistent with WTO rules and multilateral environmental agreements. We are committed to mobilizing new and additional finance for forests from all sources, including concessional and innovative financing for developing countries. We encourage innovative mechanisms that seek to mobilize new and diverse sources of funding to pay for ecosystem services. As such, we take note of the plans to establish the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) and acknowledge the Facility as an innovative tool for forest conservation. We reaffirm the G20 ambition to reduce land degradation by 50% by 2040 on a voluntary basis, as committed under the G20 Land Initiative. We will also take steps to prevent, manage, and address the negative impacts of droughts and extreme wildfires.

59. Fully aware of the critical importance of the oceans and seas for sustainable development, we recognize that adequate financing and our increased efforts and appropriate planning and management are essential to ensure the protection of the marine environment and the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources and biodiversity. Building on the consensus we reached in New Delhi, we call on all countries for the early entry into force, and implementation by the Parties, of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), emphasizing the necessity of enhanced international cooperation, capacity-building, technical assistance, and financial support, particularly to developing countries. We will engage actively in the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in 2025. We look forward to the continuation of the Oceans20 initiative in the future presidencies.

60. We express great satisfaction with the launch of the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB) in 2024. Recognizing the remarkable potential of bioeconomy to contribute to building a sustainable future and fostering economic growth for all, we have decided on the ten voluntary, non-binding High-Level Principles on Bioeconomy, which aim to outline how this innovative complementary productive paradigm can and should be economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. We recognize the potential for further cooperation and welcome the decision of South Africa to continue the work of the GIB in the next G20 Presidency of the group.

G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, New Delhi, India, 9-10 September 2023

Conserving, Protecting, Sustainably Using and Restoring Ecosystems
42. We emphasize the importance of healthy ecosystems in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification, drought, land degradation, pollution, food insecurity and water scarcity. We commit to restoring by 2030 at least 30% of all degraded ecosystems and scaling up efforts to achieve land degradation neutrality. To achieve this, we:

1. Commit to the swift, full and effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and encourage others to do the same, and encourage actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. We also call for enhanced financial resources from all sources. To this end, we welcome the recent establishment of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund within the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
2. Support the G20 ambition to reduce land degradation by 50% by 2040 on a voluntary basis, as committed under the G20 Global Land Initiative (GLI) and note the discussions on the Gandhinagar Implementation Roadmap and the Gandhinagar Information Platform.
3. Recognize that forests provide crucial ecosystem services, as well as for climate purposes acting as sinks, at the global and local levels for the environment, climate and people. We will scale up efforts to protect, conserve and sustainably manage forests and combat deforestation, in line with internationally agreed timelines, highlighting the contributions of these actions for sustainable development and taking into account the social and economic challenges of local communities and indigenous peoples. In the context of forests, we will avoid discriminatory green economic policies, consistent with WTO rules and multilateral environmental agreements. We are committed to mobilizing new and additional finance for forests from all sources, including concessional and innovative financing, in particular for developing countries. We commit to prevention and mitigation of wildfires and remediation of mining-degraded lands.
4. Call for enhancing global cooperation and sharing of best practices on water, and welcome the deliberations at the UN 2023 Water Conference and G20 Dialogue on Water.

G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration, Bali, Indonesia, 15-16 November 2022

14. We welcome the progress to date towards achieving a Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). We urge all parties and countries to finalize and adopt the GBF with the view of realizing of 2050 Vision of “Living in harmony with Nature” at the second part of COP15 CBD as a strong framework of action and accountability for halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and, as appropriate, to update National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans accordingly. We emphasize the importance of achieving and synergizing the objectives of the three Rio Conventions. We stress the need for clear and measurable goals and targets for biodiversity and means of implementation and accountability. We commit to strengthen actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and call on CBD Parties to adopt an ambitious, balanced, practical, effective, robust and transformative post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework at COP-15 in Montreal. We urge for increased resource mobilization from all sources, including from countries and entities, to provide new and additional financial resources for the implementation of the GBF, once it is negotiated, including to help enable and support developing country parties, and for aligning private and public financial flows with biodiversity objectives. We will scale up efforts to combat biodiversity loss, deforestation, desertification, land degradation and drought, as well as restoring degraded land to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030, and in support of the G20’s ambition to reduce land degradation by 50% by 2040 on a voluntary basis. We recognize the effort made by a number of countries to ensure that at least 30% of global land and at least 30% of the global ocean and seas are conserved or protected by 2030 and we will help to make progress towards this objective in accordance with national circumstances. We commit to reduce environmental impacts by changing unsustainable consumption and production patterns as well as to enhance environmentally sound waste management including by preventing illegal cross-border traffic of waste.

15. We will step up efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, including through Nature-based Solutions and Ecosystem-based Approaches, support climate mitigation and adaptation, enhance environmental conservation and protection, sustainable use and restoration, responding to natural disasters, reduce ecosystem degradation, enhance ecosystem services and to address issues affecting the marine and coastal environment. We will further promote sustainable development and lifestyles, resource efficiency and circular economy to increase sustainability and work together on scientific knowledge-sharing, raising awareness, and capacity building, particularly to advance on the ocean-based climate action. We are committed to ending illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. We welcome the WTO multilateral Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and encourage its rapid entry into force. In line with the UNEA Resolution 5/14, we are committed to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, with the ambition of completing the work by the end of 2024. We highlight the progress made and call on participating delegations to achieve an ambitious and balanced agreement without delay on an international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, as called for in the UNGA Resolution 69/292. We also acknowledge that ecosystems, including forests, seagrasses, coral reefs, wetland ecosystems in all their diversity, including peatlands and mangrove, support climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

16. We acknowledge the urgent need to strengthen policies and mobilize financing, from all sources in a predictable, adequate and timely manner to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation including significantly increasing support for developing countries. We recall and further urge developed countries to fulfil their commitments to deliver on the goal of jointly mobilizing USD 100 billion per year urgently by 2020 and through to 2025 in the context of meaningful mitigation action and transparency on implementation. We also support continued deliberations on an ambitious new collective quantified goal of climate finance from a floor of USD 100 billion per year to support developing countries, that helps in fulfilling the objective of the UNFCCC and implementation of the Paris Agreement. We emphasize the importance of transparency in the implementation of the pledges. We also recall the Glasgow Climate Pact urging developed countries to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing countries, from 2019 levels, by 2025, in the context of achieving a balance between mitigation and adaptation in the provision of scaled up financial resource, recalling Article 9 of the Paris Agreement.

17. In the context of strengthening global efforts to reach the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the goals of the Paris Agreement, as well as implementing the COP26 commitments, we reiterate that our policy mix toward carbon neutrality and net zero should include a full range of fiscal, market and regulatory mechanisms including, as appropriate, the use of carbon pricing and non-pricing mechanisms and incentives, and phase out and rationalize, over the medium term, inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption and commit to achieve this objective, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable, and in line with national circumstances. We acknowledge the macro-economic risks stemming from climate change and will continue discussions on the costs and benefits of different transitions.

18. We are committed to take actions in support of orderly, just and affordable transitions to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in line with the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement as well as with the convention on Biological Diversity. We welcome the progress made across the G20, international organizations, other international networks and initiatives, and the private sector in addressing the priorities of the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap, which is voluntary and flexible in nature, and call for further efforts to advance the Roadmap’s recommended actions that will scale up sustainability financing. We welcome the establishment of the Sustainable Finance Working Group’s online dashboard and repository of relevant work, to illustrate ongoing and future progress made on the Roadmap, and encourage members to contribute on a voluntary basis, taking country circumstances into consideration. We endorse the 2022 G20 Sustainable Finance Report which articulates practical and voluntary recommendations for jurisdictions and relevant stakeholders in developing transition finance frameworks, improving the credibility of financial institutions’ net zero commitments and scaling up sustainable finance instruments, with a focus on improving accessibility and affordability. We also welcome the valuable discussion during the Presidency’s Forum on policy levers that incentivize financing and investment to support the transition.