This weekend, the world will see G20 leaders convene to discuss how best to address the innumerable challenges that confront our world. Established in 2008, the first G20 world leaders summit was co-founded by former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, as a way of coordinating the response to the Global Financial Crisis in order to stave off a deep recession. In the wake of a global pandemic, and crisis in education, climate, food security and racial justice, who better to offer advice and guidance to current G20 leaders than Mr. Rudd?
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 18: Former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd speaks onstage during ... [+]
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Rudd about some of the challenges facing G20 leaders, as well as why it is important to recognize and support the efforts of those leaders attempting to pursue the collective global public good over ill-conceived and narrow-minded self interest.
1. You led Australia through the 2008 financial crisis and played a key role in establishing the G20 as part of the global response to that crisis. What did you learn from this and what’s your advice now to G20 leaders in the midst of the economic fallout of this pandemic? How should they lead towards a global recovery that also limits its most severe impacts on most vulnerable?
My advice to current global leaders would be: it's the machinery designed for our time. It isn't just the old world; it's the new world, it's both worlds. That's why we constructed it a decade ago because that new world was just emerging. My invocation, the most general level to the G20 leaders, is just use it. It's there. Its mandate is reflected in the Pittsburgh Summit Declaration of 2009, which gives it an overarching mandate for global financial economic management as well as sustainable development. So use the machinery, use it, in particular, to bring about a global compact for a global green recovery, and at the same time, a global compact in ensuring that the global institutions dealing with the massive social and economic dislocations of the crisis are properly funded so they can do it.
2. You’re now advising the International Monetary Fund — what needs to happen now in the international financial architecture so that we can end the pandemic for good for everyone around the world and recover better together?
The Paris Club negotiations on debt rescheduling continue to be tense. My advice to the Chinese is to join the Paris Club, rather than running an independent shop because China now holds the bulk of and the biggest slice of developing country emerging market debt. Therefore, China agreeing to the same regime of debt rescheduling is critical. The same is also true for the private financial system, which also represents a slice of emerging debt exposure on the part of emerging economies.
3. As Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, you often made the point that pursuing a Global Citizenship approach also had profoundly local and national consequences. Is this why in many emerging markets we see people, especially young people, also identifying as citizens of the world? And how can we be better advocates in making the case for global citizenship?
I believe being a better advocate involves continuing to be literate about the complexity of the global challenges both in sustainable development and climate, and in international politics, and recognising that it takes time actually, to remain literate. You can't just react to something you've seen on MSNBC; you actually need to dig in. And secondly, to anchor that knowledge and underlying passion and commitment into a minimum of one institutional commitment where you deploy your talents, skill and abilities with a global focus. So we get to a stage where all of us identify first as global citizens rather than necessarily just being a citizen of our country.
4. You are amongst a number of distinguished individuals serving as a judge for The 2020 Global Citizen World Leader Prize which will honor the leaders around the world who have taken action this year, despite unprecedented global challenges, to help shape a better, fairer, future. Why were you interested in becoming a panel judge for the Global Citizen Prize this year?
The Prize helps create an example in terms of other leaders around the world, who act decisively on turning Sustainable Development Goals from theory into practice. To act decisively to turn the Paris Agreement from a piece of paper into a climate reality. And to act decisively in terms of dealing with debt rescheduling as a series of pious propositions to actually bringing about new protocols for the Paris Club and the Chinese in order to bring about substantive debt relief.
Taking place on December 19 and hosted by Global Citizen Ambassador, John Legend, The 2020 Global Citizen Prize, will honor the activists, change-makers and cross-sector leaders around the globe who are working to create a better, fairer, future for us all. The finalists for the 2020 Global Citizen World Leader Prize will be unveiled in early December.
To follow the G20 Summit, you can head here.
