Poor role models: The richest states do not do enough
On a structural level, the authors have above all criticized G20 states for being poor role models. Apart from the “No Poverty” and “Quality Education” goals, the G20 countries are responsible for around half of the implementation gaps in achieving the goals, according to the authors. Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and the US account for around two percent of this negative weight alone.
“The G20 countries have a decisive role in making the UN goals a success. This includes financial support, for example through development aid. However, out of the G20 club, only a few countries have given the 0.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as required by the UN for development aid,” according to Christian Kroll, co-author of the study.
Consumption preferences in G20 states cause costs abroad
Further major grounds for criticism of the G20 is its role as a cost driver: “The living standards and consumer preferences in industrialized countries often incur costs in third countries,” said Christian Kroll. Other examples of external costs include intense demand for palm oil in industrialized countries, fueling deforestation in the tropics, or support for tax havens and secret accounts that can also contribute to the misappropriation of public funds or development funds; money that is urgently needed in developing countries.
At the top of the list of cost drivers are small, internationally networked industrialized countries such as Luxembourg, Singapore and Switzerland. In addition, there is a lack of budget commitments for the implementation of the UN goals. Sustainability targets are actually mentioned in the national budget plans of only 18 of the 43 G20 and emerging economies surveyed. Only Bangladesh and India have expressly provided funds to implement the goals.