UNDP Report: The G20 Global Development Agenda

4.1.2 The G20's Impact on Development to Date

The G20 document, "Seoul Development Consensus", focused on nine pillars that are essential to strong, resilient and inclusive growth: infrastructure, human resource development, trade, private investment and job creation, financial inclusion, growth with resilience, food security, domestic resource mobilization, and knowledge sharing.

At the 2013 St Petersburg summit, the focus was on five priority areas: food security, financial inclusion and remittances, infrastructure, human resource development, and domestic resource mobilization. The Post-2015 global development framework was also added for the first time together with the adoption of another key document, the "St Petersburg Development Action Plan."

Additionally, leaders have signed a peer-reviewed growth package at the Brisbane summit, consisting of more than 800 new country-specific growths. In order to realize the growth target of 2%, measures such as increasing competition, relieving the private sector of unnecessary regulation and increasing female participation in the labor force were introduced. On financial regulation, commitments were agreed to strengthening financial institutions, addressing shadow banking risks, deleveraging derivative markets and reforming the international tax system.

Potential impacts on development included reducing the infrastructure gap over the next 15 years, as well as helping both G20 and developing countries seize a larger share of tax revenues from transnational corporations. However, some experts suggest Brisbane should have included a commitment to transparency in the mining industry.

Finally, the Development Working Group (DWG) during Australia's presidency moved forward on more traditional areas, welcoming the Food Security Review. The Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) and its Rapid Response Forum were also established. The DWG also implemented the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan and worked out an innovative approach to reduce remittance costs.

It is noteworthy that from the Canadian and Korean presidencies up to Australia, the DWG has made good progress on increasing coherence between G20 work streams. In particular, in linking infrastructure, domestic resource mobilization, financial inclusion and remittances with the G20’s finance track. Further attention focused on creating links between development and the G20’s work on anti-corruption, employment, energy and trade.

On the operational side, the G20's multi-year action plan on development ensured continuity regarding implementation, hosting DWG meetings and co-facilitators for each pillar on a regular basis. The DWG's triennial accountability report has also been helpful in terms of reporting to the Sherpas.

Despite the progress made, it is very difficult to see how many of the nine pillars defined in the action plan respect the process-related principles requiring complementarity, partnership and an orientation toward concrete outcomes. Some find the nine pillars to be disconnected, with the potential to generate unstructured and unproductive discussions that undercut the very premise of the G20.

This year and the coming years will therefore be crucial in the evolution of the G20 platform, as Turkey and China hold the presidency, ensuring a continuous and further deepening discussion of development issues and a more active involvement of emerging countries.