New starting point for G20 to act as force to move history forward in right direction

There were countless challenges facing leaders of the Group of 20 economies attending their 19th summit meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Monday and Tuesday.

The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, potentially explosive geopolitical hotspots in certain regions, the lackluster post-COVID-19 global recovery, protectionist and isolationist tendencies in international trade and general state-to-state relations, climate change's devastating impacts on the world's poorest communities, and the de facto paralysis of some key institutions of global governance. The list could go on and on. But everything has to do with justice and sustainability, the two subjects the Rio summit aspired to address under the essential priority of "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet".

The most significant accomplishment of the meeting, in terms of its potential immediate practical effects, was the inauguration of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. Despite some analysts' anticipation of a failure to produce a joint final document, the attending heads of state and government did manage to produce one. That in itself underscores a collective recognition of the urgent need to answer the increasingly divided world's calls for healing.