Tracking progress on the 2023 G20 New Delhi Summit goals
Monitoring G20 compliance with the New Delhi Summit commitments reveals that climate change funding has made the most progress halfway through the year, followed by advances in the digital economy and education
As G20 leaders confront today’s most urgent challenges, the G20 Research Group monitors their commitments and evaluates the progress in implementing them from one summit to the next. This crucial oversight helps ensure that global promises are being kept in ways that adapt to the evolving landscape. It also provides insights into the effectiveness of international cooperation.
At the G20 New Delhi Summit on 9–10 September 2023, G20 leaders made 242 commitments on a range of subjects crucial to global interests, including significant commitments on advancing global development. With the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic still lingering, they emphasised the need for inclusive growth that leaves no one behind. They prioritised addressing critical development challenges, including poverty alleviation, infrastructure investment, and access to education and health care. They committed to accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in reducing inequality, improving food security and expanding clean energy access. They underscored the importance of building resilient economies and promoting equitable development, especially for vulnerable populations in the Global South.
In line with the summit’s focus on development, 47 of the 242 commitments addressed development issues, accounting for 19% of the total. Health followed with 25 commitments, or 10%, reflecting the G20’s emphasis on addressing both immediate and long-term needs by strengthening healthcare systems, ensuring equitable access to medical resources and enhancing preparedness for future pandemics. There were also 25 commitments on gender equality, for another 10%. Leaders made 19 commitments each on the environment and climate change, representing 8% for each category.
To monitor members’ compliance, the G20 Research Group selected nine priority commitments from the 242 made at the summit, including two commitments on the prominent issue of development. The remaining seven were on health, the digital economy, macroeconomics, gender, education, food and agriculture, and climate change.
Compliance so far
The G20 Research Group’s analysis of G20 members’ implementation of actions began immediately after the New Delhi Summit ended on 10 September 2023. By 19 May 2024, about halfway to the G20 Rio Summit on 18–19 November 2024, average compliance for the New Delhi commitments was 81%. This was a 6% rise from the 2022 Bali Summit’s interim score of 75%, and 13% from the 2021 Rome Summit’s interim score of 68%.
By May 2024, G20 members had achieved the highest compliance of 98% on the climate change commitment of facilitating access to funding, followed by 90% on the digital economy and education.
The development commitment of collective action on the SDGs came next with 83% compliance, followed by the macroeconomic policy commitment at 80%.
Members achieved 75% compliance on the health and food and agriculture commitments, and 78% with the gender commitment. The lowest score was 63% compliance on the development commitment of financing the SDGs.
Six members led with 94% compliance: Australia, Japan, Italy, Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. Canada, Germany and Korea followed with 89%.
This year’s host, Brazil, followed, along with China and France, at 83%. Indonesia and the United Kingdom both had 78%.
New Delhi’s host, India, scored 72% along with Argentina and Saudi Arabia. Mexico followed at 67% and South Africa at 56%. Russia had the lowest compliance at 50%.
Future prospects
Based on the preliminary findings of the G20 Research Group’s final compliance report, which assesses the full period between the New Delhi and Rio summits, we can already predict that G20 members’ actions will be shaped by several key factors. First, the ongoing war in Ukraine will continue to have far-reaching effects on the global economy, influencing energy prices, food security and overall macroeconomic stability. This will significantly affect how central banks manage inflation, with their policies likely to affect global pricing trends. Additionally, climate change will be a major focus, with countries expected to enhance commitments to financing green energy transitions and addressing the vulnerabilities of developing countries. The need for stronger climate action, in light of escalating extreme weather events, will likely drive collaborative efforts to promote sustainability and resilience.
Anticipated trends and actions
Brazil’s G20 presidency’s theme for the Rio Summit is ‘Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet’, indicating a focus on environmental, development and equality goals. This theme is supported by G20 members’ high compliance so far on climate change, education and collective action on the SDGs. This, combined with the full participation of the African Union as a G20 member, indicates an even greater opportunity for furthering these commitments through compliance this cycle and new commitments at Rio.
However, the lowest compliance was also in the area of development, specifically on financing the SDGs. G20 members should remain vigilant in addressing these pressing issues on the agenda. Furthermore, given that the interim compliance score has improved from previous years and that the final score is typically higher than the interim, there is a great opportunity for the G20 to act to secure even higher compliance by the time the Rio Summit starts.
