President von der Leyen participates in G20 Summit with emphasis on the fight against global poverty
President von der Leyen participates in G20 Summit
The G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, concluded on Tuesday with a collective agreement step up social inclusion and the fight against poverty and hunger, as well as to continue working for sustainable development, the energy transitions, and the challenge of climate change.
European Commission President von der Leyen participated in the two-day summit, which was hosted by the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva.
During the plenary sessions, President von der Leyen announced that the EU would support the new Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty as a founding member and stands ready to make commitments on all its components.
The President highlighted that she has committed to make the fight against poverty in Europe a priority: “We recently announced that the European Union will propose the first-ever Anti-Poverty Strategy. That includes for example, a Child Guarantee. Because every Child needs access to early and free education. Every child needs at least one healthy meal per day in school.”
Abroad, the EU is also contributing to the task. In 2023, the EU and its Member States provided €96 billion on Official Development Assistance (ODA), confirming Europe's role as the largest provider of aid.
“The EU's commitment to food security and the fight against hunger is central to our mission. We kept our promise to invest €2.5 billion to fight global malnutrition between 2021-24. We are on track to help 7 million children under five avoid stunting due to poor nutrition by 2025. And we assisted more than 21 million smallholder farmers globally,” the President said.
Another issue at the heart of the G20 Summit was the energy transitions and the promotion of sustainable development.
In her remarks to her fellow leaders, President von der Leyen put the emphasis on renewable energy, especially on the commitment made during the COP28 of Dubai to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.
“Renewable energy is homegrown, creates independence, creates jobs, it is clean and is cheaper than the fossil fuel alternatives. Meeting these targets that we set in Dubai, would also cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 10 billion tonnes of CO2 by the end of the decade,” President von der Leyen said.
She highlighted several areas in which the world could do more together: the first is deploying tangible renewable projects on every continent, especially in Africa, which has great potential, and for which she launched the campaign “Scaling up Renewables in Africa”, together with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.
At the same time, the President highlighted the need for more energy grids, a stable and ethical supply of minerals, more investments, and more cooperation.
One thousand days of Ukrainian resilience
On Tuesday 19 November, while Leaders were meeting in Rio de Janeiro, the world marked 1,000 days since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
President von der Leyen and other G20 Leaders made sure to highlight this during the summit and to remind the world of Ukraine's heroism and resilience.
Point 7 of the G20 Leaders' Declaration reads that: “Concerning the ongoing conflicts and wars, we reiterate our national positions and resolutions adopted at the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly and underscore that all states must act in a manner consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter in its entirety. In line with the UN Charter, all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.”
The President released a statement in which she promised to continue standing for the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes and announced an additional €65 million in support for the initiative of the Ukrainian First Lady to buy school meals for Ukrainian children.
The President finished her statement with a reassuring message to the Ukrainian people: “Ukraine's future is in our Union. Your freedom is our freedom. And our Union is your home.”
For more information
G20 Rio de Janeiro Leaders' Declaration
Statement by President von der Leyen on 1,000 Days of Ukrainian Resilience
Audiovisual coverage of the meeting
Media
2024-11-18
