New Delhi: The Ninth P20 Summit will be hold by Parliament of Bharat (India) in cooperation with IPU on 13-14 October 2023 in New Delhi. The Summit will be preceded by a Parliamentary Forum on 12 October 2023.
The theme of the Summit is Parliaments for ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, which draws inspiration from the ancient Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World is one Family).
The Summit will host four high-level sessions on Accelerating SDGs; Sustainable Energy Transition; Women led Development; and Transformation in Peoples’ Lives through Public Digital Platforms. A Parliamentary Forum will also be organized on ‘LiFE’ (Lifestyle for Environment) as a pre-Summit event to promote adoption of sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of production and consumption.
Concept Note for the Summit
Introduction
The Group of Twenty (G20) is a leading forum for international economic cooperation that seeks to develop global policies to address contemporary challenges and vision for the future. Collectively, G20 members represent all continents, 85 per cent of global economic output, two-thirds of the world´s population, and 75 per cent of international trade. Apart from Government-level Working Groups on a range of areas, the G20 also engages with several stakeholder groups including women, youth, civil society, business community, and parliamentarians.
As peoples’ representatives, parliamentarians are uniquely placed to respond to citizens’ concerns by helping build enabling environment and legal frameworks and mobilizing wider societal support for key causes. Recognizing that Parliaments can contribute substantively to fulfilling the mandate of G20, the P20 was created to provide a unique platform for bringing fresh perspectives in our understanding of challenges before mankind and finding acceptable solutions.
With ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam- One Earth, One Family, One Future’ as the guiding principle of its G20 Presidency, India aims to deliver consensus-based solutions to complex global issues in order to achieve our common objective of a more inclusive, peaceful and equitable world. India perceives its G20 Presidency as a ‘Peoples’ G20’. This casts an important responsibility on Parliaments – the embodiment of the peoples’ will – to enrich the global debate on the themes carefully selected for the P20 Summit.
The Ninth G20 Parliamentary Speakers Summit will organize –
- Pre-Summit Event on the theme of Parliamentary Forum on LiFE (Lifestyle for Sustainable Development) on 12 October 2023.
- The P20 Summit on 13-14 October 2023 Both these events will take place in the Parliament of India, New Delhi.
A. OBJECTIVES:
Building on the legacy of previous P20 Summits, the 9th P20 Summit aims to engage parliamentary leaders in an effort to build consensus on policy solutions related to key priority areas. Highlighting the role of Parliaments in addressing complex global issues, the Summit will seek to demonstrate the collective resolve and solidarity of Parliaments for One Earth, One Family, One Future. The Summit will host four high-level sessions: (i) Agenda 2030 for SDGs: Showcasing Achievements, Accelerating Progress; (ii) Sustainable Energy Transitions: Gateways to a Green Future; (iii) Mainstreaming Gender Equality: From Women’s Empowerment to Women-Led Development; and (iv) Transformation in Peoples’ Lives through Public Digital Platforms. These sessions will bring together the Speakers from G20 members and guest countries to deliberate on how Parliaments might effectively advance the P20’s objectives. The Summit will be preceded by a Parliamentary Forum on LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment).
The Summit will culminate with the adoption of a Joint Statement urging the G20 Governments to deliver solutions to major global challenges in ways that seek to ensure equity, inclusiveness, and peace. –
B. G20 PARLIAMENTARY FORUM ON ‘LiFE: LIFESTYLE FOR ENVIRONMENT’
As the climate crisis worsens, it is becoming increasingly evident that climate action will have to be taken with greater urgency by parliaments, governments, businesses, civil society and by every citizen. It is imperative that individual citizens demonstrate resoluteness in adopting a pro-planet approach in our behaviours and lifestyles to safeguard our collective future.
According to an estimate by the United Nations Environment Programme, if one billion people among the global population of eight billion were to adopt environment-friendly approach in their everyday lives, global carbon emissions could drop by approximately 20 per cent. To put this principle into practice, India launched the ‘LiFE’ (Lifestyle for Environment) initiative to encourage citizens to take simple steps that could contribute directly towards more sustainable lifestyles.
LiFE was unveiled on 20 October 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UN Secretary General António Guterres in Kevadia, Gujarat. The initiative recognizes communities which practice environmentally conscious lifestyles as ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P-3) and seeks to leverage these practices to build a sustainable ecosystem based on the principle of ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’. The ‘Mission Life’ document can be accessed as attachment no. 1.
A G20 Outcome Document on “Lifestyle for Sustainable Development” was also adopted at the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on 12 June 2023. It can be accessed as attachment no. 2.
Parliamentarians could help mobilize and engage with the public for the LiFE campaign. As such, a special G20 Parliamentary Forum will be organized on the sidelines of the P20 Summit for parliamentarians to discuss their possible role in advocating, catalyzing, and building mass support for the programme. The forum will also allow participants to share knowledge about individual and community-level actions and best practices from across the globe, which could help combat climate change.
Launching the ‘LiFE is Beautiful’ Campaign
The Summit will see the launch of a global online campaign titled ‘LiFE is Beautiful’ that will draw on social media platforms and other channels to promote the LiFe movement. Parliamentarians, delegates and other influencers will be encouraged to contribute images for the online campaign, including selfies to be taken at a live booth at the venue which will include a backdrop with a promotional tagline related to LiFE.
C. HIGH-LEVEL SESSIONS ON PRIORITY ISSUES
C.I. Agenda 2030 for SDGs: Showcasing Achievements, Accelerating Progress
The ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ principle that underpins India’s G20 Presidency is closely aligned with the spirit and approach of the Agenda 2030. As the period of the mid-term review of the SDGs nears, the world community needs to put herculean efforts to meet its stipulated Goals and Targets by 2030. The Covid-19 pandemic has rendered a serious setback to the progress made since 2016, and adversely impacted capacities of developing countries to finance the action plan for SDGs. The UN Sustainable Development Goal Report 2022 notes that COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out more than four years of achievements on poverty eradication and pushed 93 million more people into extreme poverty. More than 24 million learners from pre-primary to university level are at risk of never returning to schools. Developing countries are battling record inflation, rising interest costs, and looming debt burdens as many struggle with their post-pandemic recovery.
In this context, the Indian P20 Presidency will help take stock of the steps being taken to re-energize concerted global actions to accelerate SDG-related recovery. While it is governments that are primarily responsible for implementing the Agenda 2030, Parliaments too have an important role in the monitoring and evaluation of government policies, programmes and budgetary allocation for SDGs – a role that is acknowledged by the Agenda 2030 Declaration (Para 45). The session may like to explore relevant issues on the subject.
Guiding Questions for consideration
• How might parliamentary engagements with the Agenda 2030 be strengthened? What measures can be taken to share and adopt good parliamentary practices related to monitoring SDG implementation?
• How can Parliaments accelerate the progress towards the achievement of the SDGs, particularly in the context of challenges posed by the pandemic?
• How can multilateral parliamentary diplomacy be leveraged for enhancing and diversifying the financing of SDGs for developing and least developing countries?
• How can Parliaments effectively monitor allocation of the budgetary provisions related to achievement of SDGs?
C.II. Sustainable Energy Transition: Gateways to a Green Future
The energy transition from fossil fuels to sources of renewable energy is a key potential driver of a green and sustainable future. The Bali Energy Transition Roadmap, adopted during Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022, offers an inclusive framework Action Plan for G20 members and others to secure energy accessibility, scale up clean technologies, and advance clean energy financing. Building on these ideas, the Indian Presidency is focusing on ‘inclusive energy transitions’ as a core priority. In order to ensure a just and fair energy transition, it is vital to ensure continued support to developing countries in terms of providing access to adequate, affordable finance, knowledge and technology transfers.
Parliaments, with the authority vested in them by their Constitutions with respect to legislation and allocation of financial resources, are key stakeholders for facilitating inclusive energy transition. This session will allow participants to share insights on possible parliamentary action in this regard, and on initiatives being taken to make Parliaments green institutions.
Guiding Questions for consideration
• How can Parliaments help scale up global actions to ensure access to affordable and clean energy for all?
• Can Parliaments use their authority to accelerate the energy transition through innovation?
• How can adequate, time-bound and affordable finance and transfers of knowledge and technology be ensured to incentivize energy transitions in developing countries?
• Can Parliaments, as an institution, lead by example and transform themselves into model green institutions by harnessing digital technologies and adopting sustainable green energy use?
C.III. Mainstreaming Gender Equality: From Women’s Empowerment to Women-Led Development
India’s P20 presidency recognizes that the impact of a crisis is most often gendered and the Covid-19 pandemic and climate crisis of the last three years have impacted women and girls disproportionately in every part of the world. At the same time, these crises have shown the positive difference women’s leadership and decision-making can make in different contexts – in families and communities, public administration and governments. As the world looks to build back better from the crisis, what is needed is a recovery that is gender-responsive and equitable.
Despite improvements in women-related development indicators over the years, much remains to be done to achieve meaningful gender parity in women’s participation in the workforce, leadership positions, and economic and political decision-making structures. Increasingly, there is a growing consensus around a gender-transformative approach that emphasises the role of women’s leadership in achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development i.e. women led development in place of women’s empowerment. Under the Indian Presidency, the G20 Development Working Group has prioritized women-led development having recognized the role of women as key architects of the development processes. This approach needs to be mainstreamed across the spectrum of development interventions if SDG 5 on ‘achieving gender equality’ is to be met. As leaders of parliamentary constituencies, parliamentarians play an enabling role in effecting the shift towards women-led development. This session could explore the following questions: –
Guiding Questions for consideration
• In what ways can political and economic institutions be reformed and redesigned to promote women’s leadership at key decision making levels?
• How can Parliaments help make women-led development a priority at the level of legislation, budgeting, programme planning and oversight?
• How can parliamentarians contribute more closely to the monitoring, evaluation and improvement of national schemes that seek to empower women?
• What steps are Parliaments themselves taking to become more inclusive and empowering for women members? Could some of these practices and approaches be shared more widely?
C.IV. Transformation in Peoples’ Lives through Public Digital Platforms
As India steps into the era of the fourth industrial revolution, it has the unique advantage of being able to harness its world-class technological capabilities to promote development that is bottom up and inclusive. While assuming the G20 Presidency, Prime Minister Modi observed that India’s experience has shown the importance of inclusive digital architecture in bringing about socioeconomic transformations and requested G20 leaders to pledge to digitally transform the life of every citizen in the next ten years so that no one is deprived of the benefits of ICTs.
Among numerous technological advancements and innovations, the Indian model of digital public infrastructure (DPI) – both foundational DPIs such as digital identity systems and payment systems, as well as sectoral DPIs in the space of agriculture, health and other sectors – have unlocked value. It has spurred innovation and entrepreneurship, helped create open networks, and enabled inclusive development for entire populations. A comparison of various approaches to DPI across the G20 nations, and the exploration of possible areas of consensus or convergence, may be productive. The advent of 5G promises new technological breakthroughs. There is a wave of interest in the possibilities for development being afforded by emerging disruptive technologies. There are also growing concerns about newer digital divides, insufficient digital literacy and skills, and issues of data protection and privacy. This session will reflect on the role P20 Parliamentarians can be called upon to play in addressing some of these challenges, helping strengthen the digital economy, and supporting digital transformations at national and international levels.
Guiding Questions for consideration
• How can Parliaments work with their respective governments to build and promote affordable and inclusive digital public infrastructure?
• What role can Parliaments play in supporting initiatives to bridge digital divides, and ensure that the impacts of digital transformations can be accessed by all?
• Can Parliaments play an active role in supporting the startup and innovation ecosystems in their respective countries?
• Can any common policy solutions be identified by the Parliaments of G20 members to use technology to address the challenges of financial inclusion and access to healthcare?
D. Expected Outcomes and Deliverables
The Summit is expected to close with a Declaration or Joint Statement. The host Parliament, working in cooperation with the IPU, will table a preliminary draft of the Statement, which will be distributed among members for further inputs. In addition, a study on ancient democratic roots and traditions of India will also be released during the Summit.
Tentative Programme for the Summit
Pre – Summit Day
Thursday, 12 October 2023
10.00 – 10.30 Arrival of participants;
11.00 – 11.30 Inaugural Session;
11.30 – 13.30 G20 Parliamentary Forum on LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment)
13.30 – 15.00 Samvaad Lunch hosted by Speaker, Lok Sabha
17.30 – 19.00 Meeting of Delegation Secretaries to finalize the Draft Joint Statement
Evening Free
Summit Day One (Friday, 13 October 2023)
09.30 – 10.00 Assembly at Rajghat Memorial to offer floral tribute to the Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi
10.00 Departure for Parliament House Complex
11.00 – 12.00 Inaugural Session
12.00 – 12.15 Tea/Coffee Break
12.15 – 13.45 First Session Agenda 2030 for SDGs: Showcasing Achievements, Accelerating Progress Keynote Speakers
13.45 – 15.15 Samvaad Lunch
15.30 – 17.00 Second Session Sustainable Energy Transition: Gateway to Green Future Keynote Speakers
17.00 – 17.15 Tea/Coffee Break
17.15 – 18.45 Third Session Mainstreaming Gender Equality: From Women’s Development to Women led Development Keynote Speakers
19.30 – 21.00 Cultural Evening and Samvaad Dinner hosted by Speaker, Lok Sabha
Summit Day Two (Saturday, 14 October 2023)
10.00 – 10.45 Tour of Parliament of India
10.45 – 11.00 Tea/Coffee Break
11.00 – 12.30 Fourth Session Transformation in Peoples’ Lives through Public Digital Platforms Keynote Speakers
12.30 – 14.00 Working Lunch
14.00 – 15.00 Concluding Session Adoption of the Joint Sta
