G8 Summit concludes, with meaningful gains for development

10 July 2009

The 43rd Summit of G8 Leaders took place in L’Aquila, Italy, between 8 – 10 July.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was joined by the leaders of other G8 countries, including President Barack Obama, attending the G8 for the first time.

Italy, as this year’s Presidents, were the hosts of the Summit. Back in April, L’Aquila was struck by a powerful earthquake which left nearly 300 dead, 1,500 injured and as many as 60,000 homeless. Many buildings of cultural and historical significance were damaged in the earthquake, along with key elements of civilian infrastructure. The decision to relocate the G8 Summit from the original site of La Maddalena in Sardinia to L’Aquila in the mountains of Italy was taken in order to draw attention to reconstruction efforts within the region.

The Summit agenda consisted of key international issues, spanning the global economy, climate change, development and key foreign affairs topics such as Iran and North Korea. The most momentous gain for development was agreement on how G8 will record progress towards meeting promises made at previous G8 Summits. An Accountability Report was appended to the Summit communiqué. This is an interim measure, which anticipates a full and comprehensive accountability framework which is being developed by experts for introduction in 2010.

This move demonstrates that the G8 are serious about keeping their promises to the poor. They have shown themselves willing to take responsibility for their past pledges and acknowledged the need to reassess in 2010 what further steps need to be taken in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

The G8 also reiterated the promise they made at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005, namely to double aid to Africa by US$50 billion per annum (US$25 billion for Africa).

Commenting on the Summit, Secretary of State Douglas Alexander said:

“The focus in L’Aquila, was, quite rightly, on making sure old promises were kept before new ones are made. I am pleased that has been recognised. 

“It is encouraging that the G8 has increased its accountability through a new framework that will keep track of progress against past pledges. This will make a significant difference to developing countries by making it clear where promises are being kept.

“I am also pleased that agreements have been reached on food security, health and climate change. The world’s poorest people are suffering most from the global economic downturn and it is right that we act to help them.

“The DFID White Paper sets out how we plan to tackle the short term challenges posed by the economy and how we will work to avoid potentially catastrophic climate change.

“The spirit of co-operation and determination at a time of global uncertainly must be maintained on the international platform, particularly in September at the G20 in Pittsburgh and in December at the Copenhagen climate change conference.”

In addition to reaffirming Gleneagles aid commitments and agreeing to implement an accountability framework, the G8 leaders reached agreements in a number of vital areas:

 
Food:

• US$20 billion extra financing for food over the next 3 years. This includes a US$1.8 billion (£1.1 billion) contribution from the UK.

Health:

• A reaffirmation of existing commitments on global health, including US$60 billion for health over 5 years, 100 million malaria bed nets by 2010, and universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment by 2010.
• Adoption of a Global Consensus on Maternal Health, which includes support for free services for women and children where countries choose to provide it.

Education:

• Reaffirmation of the need to fulfil the US$1.2 billion funding shortfall for the Education For All Fast Track Initiative.
• Support for the FIFA 1-GOAL World Cup 2010 education campaign, which is working to mobilise 30 million football fans to advocate for the resources needed to deliver primary education for all children by 2015.

Water:

• Agreement to launch a strengthened Africa-G8 partnership on water and sanitation, based on mutual accountability and shared responsibility.

Climate change:

• Reference to the need to restrict climate change to 2° Celsius above pre-industrial times.
• Confirmation of the long-term goal of at least a 50% reduction in global emissions by 2050, with a developed country goal of an 80% reduction in the same period, based on 1990 levels.