Development Working Group

Issue Note
Contents

BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................... 3
Priorities ....................................................................................................................................... 5
PRIORITY 1: FIGHTING INEQUALITIES........................................................................................ 5
Deliverable: .......................................................................................................................... 6
PRIORITY 2: ACCESS TO WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES ................................................... 6
PRIORITY 3: TRILATERAL COOPERATION ................................................................................... 7
Deliverable ........................................................................................................................... 8
WAY FORWARD ....................................................................................................................... 9
..................................................................................................................................................... 11
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 11

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BACKGROUND
By adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the international community recognized the need to
promote economic growth, environmental protection and social inclusion simultaneously,
as the only way to build a better future for the incoming generations.
G20 members have endorsed this commitment in the 2016 G20 Action Plan on the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development by nominating the Development Working Group
(DWG) as the coordinating body and policy resource for sustainable development across
the G20.
More recently, during the SDG Summit in September 2023, the international community
reaffirmed this commitment to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs, in
a balanced and integrated manner. The 2030 Agenda remains the overarching roadmap
for achieving sustainable development and overcoming the multiple challenges we face.
The international community must act with urgency to realize its vision as a plan of action
for people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership, leaving no one behind.
In our current context of intricate global challenges, such as climate change, the
persistence of poverty and hunger and a growing demand for natural resources, the
importance of promoting the three dimensions of sustainable development - social,
economic and environmental -, including the imperative of poverty eradication, gains
unprecedented prominence on international agendas.
The economic setbacks since 2020 have resulted in the largest increase in extreme poverty
in recent times. After decades of steady decline in the number of people living in extreme
poverty, in 2020, due to the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there was a reversal of
this trend, with 70 million people falling under the extreme poverty line, to a staggering
total of 700 million people in extreme poverty worldwide. For the first time in many
decades, the extreme poverty rate rose, from 8.4 percent of the world population in 2019
to to 9.3 percent of the world population in 2020.
Even though we are in the road to recovery, having recently reached pre-pandemic levels
of extreme poverty worldwide at 690 million people below poverty line, recovery has
been uneven and 3 years of the fight against extreme poverty were wasted. Although
Middle Income Countries are back to 2019 levels of extreme poverty, the poverty rate has
actually increased in Low Income Countries.
The G20, as a forum of the world's largest economies, has a unique and influential role to
play in addressing those challenges and shaping the global agenda for a more sustainable
and equitable future.
First and foremost, economic sustainability must be a core focus. Sustainable economic
development is not merely about maximizing growth but also about ensuring that this

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growth is inclusive and does not come at the expense of future generations. Equally
crucial is the dimension of social sustainability. The G20 must recognize that economic
growth alone is insufficient if it does not improve the quality of life for all citizens. Social
inclusion, access to education, healthcare, and decent work are essential components of a
sustainable society. Addressing these issues not only enhances the well-being of
individuals but also fosters social stability and cohesion. Furthermore, environmental
sustainability is another urgent imperative. Climate change, biodiversity loss and
pollution pose formidable challenges to the world. The G20, through its policies and
actions, must demonstrate leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting
clean energy sources and the conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems. These
efforts are not only critical for the environment but also for the long-term resilience of
economies and societies
We must recognize and act upon the interdependence of the economic, social, and
environmental dimensions of sustainable development. By prioritizing these three pillars,
the G20 can contribute significantly to global efforts to build a prosperous, inclusive, and
environmentally responsible world. This commitment not only benefits the member
countries but also serves as a beacon of hope and cooperation for the entire international
community.
The G20 is the best suited forum to put the Sustainable Development Agenda in its three
pillars back to the center of the international agenda. This is not only due to the substantial
combined share of the world’s GDP and population of G20 countries. More importantly,
the G20 gathers very different countries, from different regions and different levels of
development. The recent inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the
G20, during the Indian presidency, contributed to further increasing the group's diversity
and representation. This is critical because the global solutions we need will only emerge
from enhanced dialogue, including many different voices. Moreover, the G20 has the
power to mobilize resources and expertise to address global challenges effectively.
Whether it is supporting developing countries in their sustainable development efforts,
promoting technology transfer, or facilitating knowledge sharing, the G20 can play a
crucial role in accelerating progress towards sustainable development.
Under the motto “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet”, the Brazilian G20
Presidency has elected as priorities: social inclusion and the fight against hunger; energy
transition and sustainable development in its three aspects (social, economic and
environmental); and reform of global governance institutions, which are all in line with
the comprehensive, far-reaching, people-centered, indivisible and interlinked nature of
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In order to address our common crises and challenges, the DWG under the Brazilian
Presidency will have three priorities. The first overall priority is fighting inequalities,
which Brazil considers to be the root cause of all the issues addressed by the 2030 Agenda.
Another priority will be provision of basic services, specially access to sanitation. The

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other priority will be partnerships for the 2030 Agenda, in particular Trilateral
Cooperation.

Priorities

PRIORITY 1: FIGHTING INEQUALITIES

As President Lula said in his inaugural speech at the 78th United Nations General
Assembly, “If we had to summarize [our common] challenges in a single word, it would
be inequality”. It is either the root cause of all of the issues addressed by the 2030 Agenda
or makes them harder to solve. Therefore, reducing inequalities can help achieve all SDGs
and achieving other SDGs can help reducing inequality (SDG 10). For example, taxing
the rich for their carbon print – as they are responsible for almost half of carbon emissions
– would help reducing emissions and finance decarbonisation (SDG 13). By providing
quality education to all children (SDG 5), uplifting women and girls (SDG 5), taking
people out of extreme poverty and food insecurity (SDGs 1 and 2), we are also promoting
more equality. A reinvigorated and reformed multilateral system should address
inequalities between countries (SDGs 16 and 17).
Inequality also gets in the way of implementing sustainable, inclusive and just transitions
globally, while leaving no one behind. While lifting people out of poverty could mean an
increase in carbon emissions, doing so by reducing inequality could offset some of those
effects. For example, it is estimated that to meet the 3% target of poverty reduction set by
SDG 1, there would be a necessity to raise global carbon emissions by 4.9%. However,
if poverty eradication policies are combined with fighting inequality, the need for
increasing carbon lowers to 1,8%. Reducing inequalities is a way to close the gap between
poverty eradication and climate mitigation needs.
However, gender, race, class, disability status, origin and other intersection inequalities
contribute largely to the social and economic exclusion of specific groups who face
discrimination and fewer economic opportunities around the world. This situation is made
worse by inequality between countries, in a context in which developing countries, and
particular the least developed ones are facing lower rates of growth and debt distress,
making it harder for them to invest in developmental policies that could address the deep
rooted causes of inequalities.
Inequality is on the rise worldwide due to several crises and challenges we face today.
The global Gini index was up by 0,7% in 2020, after steady decline since 1990i. The
increase in inequality is also happening in unequal way among countries: the Gini index

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has actually decreased in countries that implemented effective social protection policies
during the pandemic, while it has increased in poorer countries that did not have that fiscal
space and where the poorest were hit the hardest by the economic effects of the COVID-
19 pandemic.
Reducing global inequalities require both that poorer countries close the gap to wealthier
ones and also that the poorest people in each country get closer to their richer nationals.
In order to achieve this, we must promote universal social inclusion and ensure equal
opportunities to people, irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin,
religion or economic or other status.
The G20 should send a strong political message on the need for reducing inequalities.
The Agenda 2030 aims at promoting the social, economic and political inclusion of all,
by setting targets that are comprehensive, far-reaching, people-centered, indivisible and
interlinked, balancing the three dimensions of sustainable development, in an integrated
manner. No goal is achieved until all are, while leaving no one behind.

Deliverable:

Development Ministers Declaration on Reducing Inequalities. G20 Development

Ministers should send a high level message on the urgent need for more action on the
reduction of inequalities. This should be a short, strong and action-oriented document to
bring attention of the whole international community on the importance of reducing
inequalities and realizing opportunities for all.

PRIORITY 2: ACCESS TO WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES

Access to safe water and sanitation services is a basic human right and essential to human
dignity, but a large part of the world population is still left behind on this. Nearly half of
the world population, or 3.6 billion people, still lack safe sanitation as of 2020 and 494
million still practice open defecation. Only 8 countries, all of them high income, have
reached universal coverage to safely managed sanitation services, which means that
almost all of G20 countries still have work to do domestically in safeguarding access to
safe sanitation to their population. Despite having recent improvement in this area, in
Brazil 15% of the population still lack access to safely managed water and 44% to safely
managed sanitation services.
It is crucial to take action towards the achievement of SDG 6. Due to the indivisible nature
of SGDs, almost all of the goals are related to SDG 6, such as health and well-being (SDG

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3), poverty eradication (SDG 1) and reducing inequalities (SDG 10). There is also the
need for more climate resilient sanitation as we deal with the consequences of climate
change. Women and girls are also particularly vulnerable and have unequal access to
sanitation services, with many still lacking access to menstrual health services.
Unfortunately, there is actually less attention and resources dedicated to sanitation, with
ODA to water and sanitation falling from US$ 5,606 billion in 2019 to US$ 5,033 in 2021.
If current trends persist, only 81% and 67% of the global population will have access to
safe water and sanitation services, respectively. To achieve those targets we must urgently
accelerate action on improving access to safe water and sanitation services and ensure no
one is left behind. G20 members must come together and take actions to urgently
accelerate the achievement of SDG6.

PRIORITY 3: TRILATERAL COOPERATION

As we face several crises and challenges that have set us back in the attainment of the
goals of the 2030 agenda, there is a need to search for partnerships and different
cooperation and finance arrangements in order to multiply the effects of the actions
towards the goals. The Brazilian G20 Presidency has set Trilateral Cooperation as one of
its priorities, since we posit it as a type of arrangement that has the potential to boost
cooperation for development.
Trilateral cooperation usually involves at least 3 cooperation partners: a beneficiary, that
seeks support to address a development challenge; a pivotal partner, that provides
resources and/or expertise; and a facilitating partner, that connects both parties through
financial and/or technical support. Trilateral cooperation offers an opportunity to move
beyond traditional provider-recipient dynamics by creating unusual partnerships and also
by repositioning the roles of cooperation partners. It can be an avenue of mutual learning
of knowledge sharing between developed and developing countries.
Brazil is a large provider of trilateral cooperation through the Brazilian Cooperation
Agency (ABC, in Portuguese), under the following principles: i) actions are taken in
response to requests made by developing countries; ii) such response is based on foreign
policy guidelines and takes into account the specific interests of Brazilian cooperating

institutions; ii) initiatives are focused on developing human skills and expertise,
institutional competences, and productive capacities; iii) there is no direct transfer of
financial resources to partner countries, but rather the sharing of knowledge and

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successful experiences acquired by Brazilian institutions; iv) among others, Brazilian
cooperation is guided by the principles of horizontal relationships, neutrality, non-
conditionality, and mutual benefits. Brazil also prefers to call it “trilateral cooperation”
since all 3 partners are equal and there is no hierarchy among them.
Trilateral cooperation is a way to move beyond traditional North-South logic of
cooperation for development, by creating innovative arrangements and mixing up the
roles of each cooperation partner, moving from the traditional roles of receiver and
provider to a mutually beneficial arrangement where each partner can learn and has an
active voice in defining priorities and goals.
We have not unlocked the full potential of trilateral cooperation as a way to accelerate
SDG action yet. One of the reasons is there is not awareness among stakeholders,
including privates ones, about this modality of cooperation. The other one is there isn’t
much funding related to it yet. The G20 is in a privileged position to bring more political
focus to the potential of trilateral cooperation and also to bring more financing into
trilateral arrangements.

Deliverable

Establishment of a structured trilateral cooperation initiative, aiming to strengthen

capabilities and disseminate good practices among G20 member countries and interested
developing nations. The initiative will involve dialogue for functional interaction between
instruments and methodologies aimed at collecting, recording, evaluating and reporting
cooperation information, which favors the monitoring of actions to achieve the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The initiative would incorporate the following key elements:

(1) Survey of Successful Practices and Strategies:

Conducting a comprehensive survey of cooperation practices by G20 member countries,

highlighting action strategies that have proven to be effective in generating tangible
impacts on the SDGs. This process will allow us to identify and share practices that can
optimize the application of technical, financial and human resources.

(2) Multiregional Technical Meetings:

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Organization of up to three technical meetings (in-person or hybrid), with the
participation of cooperation partners and developing countries from different regions.
These events will provide a suitable environment for the exchange of knowledge,
experiences and best practices in recording, evaluating results and reporting cooperation
information. Furthermore, they aim to encourage the construction of cooperation
networks between participating countries, promoting an inclusive and comprehensive
approach, which allows them to recognize new forms of collaboration and conceive pilot
experiences among different actors in international cooperation.

(3) Practical Interaction Activities:

Establishment of practical activities aimed at developing and specializing the

participants’ capabilities. This will include training activities, technical exchanges and
joint initiatives that allow those involved to acquire specific knowledge and practical
skills related to the collection, analysis and efficient management of statistical data, in
different contexts of sustainable development cooperation practice.

(4) Assessment Methodology:

Presentation and dissemination of methodologies applied for quantitative and impact

assessment of different identified cooperation actions. This approach will allow us to
broaden the vision of the results achieved, considering a careful assessment of progress
in relation to the SDGs and facilitating the continuous adaptation of the initiative as
necessary.

WAY FORWARD

 The 1st DWG meeting will be held in a virtual format from 24 to 25 of January
2024. It will be an opportunity to discuss the Brazilian presidency priorities,
collect impressions from members and present the way forward.

 Based on this discussions, the Brazilian Presidency will circulate the building
blocks of the 2024 DWG Documents in due time before the 2nd DWG Meeting.

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 The 2nd DWG meeting will be held between 18 and 19 of March in Brasília/DF.
During this meeting, the building blocks of the final documents will be discussed.

 Based on these discussions, Brazil will circulate the zero draft of the documents
before the 3rd DWG Meeting.

 The 3rd DWG meeting will be held between 27 and 29 of May in Salvador/BA.
During this meeting, we will start negotiations on the zero draft of the final
documents.

 The VII Regional Conference on Trilateral Cooperation will be held in May, also
in Salvador. Delegates are welcome to join the event.

 If needed, virtual intersessional meeting will continue negotiation on the final

documents.

 The 4th DWG meeting will be held between 21 and 22 July in Rio de Janeiro/RJ.
If documents are not finalized until then, we can finish negotiations during this
meeting. If drafting is finished before, we can use this meeting to discuss the terms
of the Annual Update and its SDS, including the Rio Update, Otherwise, this
discussion will be held virtually during the third trimester.

 The Development Ministers Meeting will be held in Rio de Janeiro on 23 July.

 The High Level Event for the Launch of a Global Alliance Against Hunger and
Poverty will be in Rio de Janeiro on 24 July.

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REFERENCES

2016. G20 Hangzhou Action Plan 2016. Hangzhou : s.n., 2016.

Bank, The World. 2023. Country-by-country Analysis and Projections for the Developing
World. Macro Poverty Outlook. Annual Meetings 2023, 2023.
Daniel Gerszon Mahler, Nishant Yonzan, Christoph Lakner. 2022. Policy Research
Working Paper. The Impact of COVID-19 on Global Inequality and Poverty. s.l. : World
Bank Group, 2022. Vol. 10198.
HADDAD, Fernando. 2023. Statement from the Brazilian Minister of Finance, Fernando
Haddad, for the upcoming G20 presidency. Marrakesh, ., Marrocos : FMCBG Meeting
G20, 13 de Outubro de 2023.
2016. High Level Principles on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda. G20 Action Plan
on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. CHINA : s.n., 2016.
HLPE. 2023. Reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition. Rome : CFS HLPE-
FSN, 2023.
Mahler, Daniel Gerszon, and Maarten Lambrechts. 2023. Annual Changes in global Gini
index. Global Inequality declined until 2020 which point the pandemic reversed the trend.
Washington, DC : A. F. Pirlea, U. Serajuddin, A. Thudt, D. Wadhwa, and M. Welch.,
2023.
—. 2023. Global Gini index. Global inequality decliend until 2020 at which point the
pandemic reversed the trend. Washington, DC : A. F. Pirlea, U. Serajuddin, A. Thudt, D.
Wadhwa, and M. Welch, 2023.
Nations, United. 2023. A Solution through Science, Technology and Innovation.
Ensuring Safe Water and Sanitation for All. Geneva : The United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development, 2023
—. 2015. Financing for Development. Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third
International Conference on Financing for Development. New York : United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015.

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