Dr James Cockayne writes that at the G20 Virtual Summit, global leaders need to prioritize a COVID-19 global crisis coordination mechanism, a temporary regime for moving response-critical people and goods, the first true global fiscal stimulus, and a commitment to do whatever it takes to protect people. Below is an excerpt.
The virtual summit of the Group of 20 (G20) today was a defining moment for international cooperation. The COVID-19 disease crisis is truly international—a global pandemic and a contagion in a globalized economy. No country will be able to exit this crisis alone. Enter the G20. Created to deal with the 2008 global financial crisis, and bringing together countries that account for around 90 per cent of global GDP, the G20 forum is in a unique position to quickly establish a framework for coordinated crisis response. He outlines four things leaders should prioritize.