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G8 and G20
A basic guide to these powerful groups.
You may have heard about riots in Toronto at the G20 summit and wondered what it was all about. What is the G20 and the G8 and why were there riots and protests at the G20?
The G8:
The G8 (Group of 8) is a forum made up of the eight richest and most powerful countries around the world. The members are: France, Italy, Germany, Japan, USA, the UK, Russia and Canada. Every year, they meet to discuss important and pressing global issues. G8 refers to both the annual meeting as well as the combination of the various member states. The G8 meeting is hosted by a different member every year.
The agenda for the meeting is set by the hosting country, as well as the decisions on what meetings will take place.
The G20:
The G20 (Group of 20) is made up of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors from 19 countries around the world, as well as one minister representing the European single currency. The G20 first met in 2008 and since then the heads of these countries have regularly met for summits and meetings around the world. Since 2008 they have met twice yearly. From 2011 onwards, the plan is for meetings to take place only once a year.
The G20 exists to discuss financial, environmental and legal matters, but mostly spends its time making and changing policies regarding global financial security. The G20 actually makes up 85% of the worlds GDP, 80% of world trade and 66% of the world’s population. Many people object to this as they feel it is wrong for one organisation to basically control the world’s wealth.
Since the G20 has grown considerably in size since it started, it will replace the G8 as the world’s main economic council. This was announced in September 2009.
Protests:
At the Toronto summit in 2010, many people were injured and hundreds arrested when peaceful protests turned violent. People were protesting about issues ranging from the bailing out of banks the world over (while ordinary people are driven into poverty), to anti war activism to the environment. This is not a new phenomenon, as these meetings of the world’s elite politicians have always attracted protests from the marginalised.
Why care?
The G20 is very important simply because it has a vast influence on the world’s economy and financial situation. The G20 essentially controls the global economy and distribution of wealth around the globe. A lot of people are unhappy with this situation and feel it is unfair for 19 countries (plus the EU currency) to hold all the power. They feel there are major flaws with the G20 such as:
- Decisions which effect the population of the world are made in secret behind closed doors.
- Only a handful of people make these decisions.
- Women are not equally represented in the G20. In fact, only two of the leaders at the G20 are women.
- The sole agenda of the G20 seems to be only to make the rich richer, and not to make the world a more equitable, safer, cleaner or more just place. In fact, the G20 has set in place many policies which undermine local and small businesses.
- The G20 encourages the privatisation of education and other public services. Some feel this could be a good thing, making services more efficient.
- Many people are dismayed by the carbon market, which could be used as a way for countries to use their money to avoid being environmentally responsible.
- The G20 still holds the global south countries accountable for large debts that their governments made in the past, frequently for personal gain and not for the good of their citizens.
- It is essentially an undemocratic process with a small amount of people making decisions that affect billions of people around the world.
So, there ya have it. The basic rundown of the G8 and the G20. Feel free to share your comments and thoughts below.
Further Information:
www.g20.org/
