Held from 11-13 June 2021 in the UK, the G7 Leaders’ Summit addressed concerns ranging from climate change to the pandemic and global economic recovery. The seven G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US with leaders from Australia, India, South Africa and South Korea as guest countries.
G7 leaders pledged to deliver an additional 870 million vaccine doses for developing world on top of the 250 million already promised by the US and 100 million from the UK to be delivered over the next year. Leaders have also pledged to phase out coal-fired power generation at home and to end funding for new coal-burning power plants in developing countries by offering developing nations $2.8 billion to transition to cleaner fuels. The summit also agreed measures to limit multinational companies from shifting profits to low tax havens with leaders signing up to levy of minimum 15% corporate tax rate. Leaders have also agreed to rules requiring companies and financial institutions to disclose the extent in which their businesses are exposed to climate change risks, thereby increasing protection for the global financial system. Finally, President Joe Biden declared ‘America is back at the table’ as he consigned some of the political friction between his predecessor Trump and the global community.
The UK Presidency of the G7 covered strategies to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic in leading global recovery whilst strengthening resilience against future pandemics, promoting future prosperity in facilitating free and fair trade, tackling climate change, and preserving the planet’s biodiversity and championing global shared values.
