The Group of 20 (composed of the largest 19 national economies, the European Union, and as of 2023 the African Union) was founded to stabilize the global economy and financial markets. Over the past 15 years, G20 has also taken on global health emergencies (Ebola, Covid-19) and the climate crisis. In a time of polycrisis, all eyes are on the G20 Heads of State Summit in Brazil, which starts today. In parallel, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) closes this week on November 22.
Will these multilateral fora deliver? And, most importantly, who will they deliver for?
At our organization, we focus on disability rights and eye health. One in six people (16 percent of the global population) has a severe disability, and over 2 billion live with eye conditions, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These are not “niche” populations or small numbers of people. They make up a significant share of the population in all countries. Yet in crises, such as those G20 and COP29 are trying to tackle, these population groups are mostly neglected.
The consequence of this neglect results in inequity and a loss of lives. According to the UN Flagship Report On Disability And Development (2024), people with disabilities are up to twice as likely to die in climate disasters than people without disabilities. 39 percent cannot or face significant barriers to evacuate during a sudden disaster. In our work in Africa, we are seeing these challenges firsthand in the unprecedented flooding in South Sudan.
We know how to do disability-inclusive climate action and we know that by harnessing the expertise of people with disabilities, we can find inclusive solutions. But national and funder resources are stretched thin and decreasing rapidly in particular for African countries most impacted by the climate crisis.
There are glimmers of hope, however: In October, a first-ever G7 meeting on inclusion and disability at the ministerial level was held under the Italian Presidency. South Africa, which will take over the G20 Presidency for 2025, has stated it will place equity, solidarity and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) high on the agenda.
Multilateral, global and regional cooperation is key. However, for impact to unfold for all people, action must be localized.
Too often, we place all hopes, agency and responsibility in global fora that meet once a year.
Increasingly, these fora defer action and concrete, time-bound, funded commitments to a later date.
Galvanizing concrete action requires three solution areas:
First, people and communities are our drivers of change. This is why our work is led by and anchored at the country and community level. Our theory of change begins at the local level, working with local partners. In our work on eye health and disability rights, people with eye conditions and disabilities set our agenda and program approach. They – not heads of state – know what they need and what works best in their specific context.
Second, localized action and decolonial approaches still require international collaboration and solidarity. It remains essential: The climate crisis can only be resolved through multilateral cooperation; geopolitical tension and conflict can only be solved internationally, and funding models that have a colonial history can only be transformed collaboratively and through respectful partnerships. We all play a role, as individuals, as members of organizations and coalitions, and as global citizens.
Third, as G20 leaders finalize their Declaration in Rio, and governments conclude their negotiations at COP29 in Baku, we should not just evaluate the concrete commitments made and hold leaders accountable for them. Instead, we also need to ask: Who will they deliver for? Do all people, including those left behind in climate and other disasters, feel addressed and included? Are we leaving millions of people behind, such as people with disabilities when unprecedented flooding strikes? Are we tackling inequities, nationally and globally? Are we listening, truly engaging with, and acting upon what people say they need?
Ultimately, these are questions about whether we are delivering on universal human rights, and those that all countries have committed to in conventions such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Our hope is that fora such as the G20, G7 and COP focus on this core question: Are we delivering for all people, and collectively creating a more equal, fair, and just world?
Katri Bertram is International Director Impact & Advocacy at Light for the World International
Featured image: Taken during the Cyclone Eloise relief effort in Buzi, Mozambique, in 2021 by Light for the World