ICC Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, First Vice-Chairman John Denton and Secretary General John Danilovich have joined 58 CEOs and Presidents of Business Associations to call upon the G20 to take decisive actions in shaping globalization.

Hamburg, 5 July 2017

The call for international cooperation to shape an interconnected world comes from the Business-20 (B20), the official business dialogue of the G20, ahead of the G20 Summit due to begin in Hamburg, Germany on Friday.

Signatories of the B20 statement agree that globalization is a positive force for economic growth and sustainable development but say common rules and strong institutions are necessary to ensure that globalization benefits all.

Here are three areas of where the G20 can demonstrate leadership according to the B20 statement:

Trade: Promoting prosperity worldwide

Business leaders are concerned about the global increase in trade-restrictive measures. They urge the heads of state and government to reinforce their commitment to open markets and the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its centre. Everybody should play by the international rules, the leaders emphasize, while calling upon the G20 to update the rulebook, in order to adequately govern trade in the 21st century. According to the business leaders, as many people as possible should have the opportunity to benefit from globalization. For this reason, there needs to be more investment in education and lifelong learning. The G20 economies need active labour market policies and strong social systems.

Fighting climate change

While business commends the G20 efforts in the areas of energy efficiency, renewables, and partly also with regard to energy access, the G20 has not yet come up with predictable market-based policies on climate change.

Underscoring the private sector need for a predictable and stable policy environment that is market-oriented, cost-effective, and strengthens competition among technologies, the statement calls for a clear signal from the G20 in the area of climate protection and reaffirmation in Hamburg from leaders of their commitment to implement the Paris Climate Agreement. “The Paris Climate Agreement provides a good framework for climate protection and innovation. Climate protection and economic growth do not preclude one another. On the contrary, investing in modern, smart, and clean economies can boost economic and social development,” the statement said.

Shaping globalization together

“The G-20 holds the necessary weight to govern globalization,” the statement said underscoring that G20 member countries account for 85% of global gross domestic product and make up approximately two-thirds of the world’s population. B-20 leaders urged the G20 to overcome differences and demonstrate leadership to set the agenda for a future-oriented, inclusive global economy. “It is high time to shape globalization together,” the statement concludes.

The full statement can be accessed on the B-20 Germany website.