Warm words alone won’t fight poverty or climate change. While the hosts can be commended for trying, the G20 collectively have failed to ensure that the resources to help the poorest countries adapt to climate change would be additional to existing development assistance. Nor have they helped ensure that pre-existing commitments are kept, such as on fighting hunger or fighting the impact of the global downturn on the poor.
The G20 are right on the need for an ambitious replenishment of the African Development Bank’s concessional arm, but the African bank also needs a healthy capital increase. More needs to be done to build not stall momentum both for Copenhagen and keeping our promises to the poor. Prime Minister Brown raising creative, innovative thinking on financing is what the world needs more of right now.