Global leadership: Key outcomes from the G7 and the role of business

The G7 was set up in 1975 and brings together the leaders of the world's leading industrial nations. The group consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in addition to the European Union Commission President.

Following the UK holding the Presidency of the G7 in 2021, this year (20022) Germany is hosting, and the leaders met in the secluded Bavarian Alps on Sunday 26 June for a three-day summit.

Top on the agenda for the summit was the conflict in Ukraine, the future of the global economy and cooperation in driving the green transition – although it has been criticised for a lack of concrete outcomes. 

Leaders agreed a join communiqué in which they commit to:

• Continue to support the government and people of Ukraine (however there were no new announcements on support for Ukraine or sanctions)

• Work with partners to establish an open and cooperative international Climate Club by the end of 2022 (as part of this, the group would work towards a common understanding of ways to compare carbon mitigation measures, including explicit carbon pricing)
• Explore the feasibility of introducing price caps on Russian oil with other international partners 
• Support progress at the WTO ahead of MC13, advancing negotiations on E-Commerce and finding a permanent solution for the moratorium on E-Commerce customs duties, closing the gap in the fisheries negotiations, and making concrete progress on WTO reform
• Strengthen global pandemic readiness and enable equitable global access to and delivery of safe, effective, quality-assured and affordable vaccines
• Launch the Global Investment and Infrastructure Partnership to boost cooperation with emerging markets and developing countries (in response to China’s Belt and Road initiative)

Business priorities at the G7

Ahead of the G7 Summit, CBI and our sister federations from the G7 countries gathered in Berlin for the B7 summit to present business recommendations to G7 leaders and demonstrate business commitments on the global stage. 

Business leaders from across Europe, North America and Japan discussed shared global challenges from the transition to net zero, the future of our health systems, the resilience of global supply chains and the cost-of-living crisis. The summit culminated in the presentation of business’ G7 recommendations for a resilient and sustainable global economy to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. As a united business voice, we called on G7 leaders to: 

• Sustain employment-rich growth after and despite the war - we call on governments to support economic growth in the context of current supply chain and cost of living crisis. 
• Support the green transition and path towards decarbonisation – diversification of imports of fossil energy raw materials out of Russia must be accompanied by an even stronger adoption of policies embracing the transition to decarbonization and the green economy. 
• Commit to globalisation as the basis of resilience – we call on governments to work towards open markets, ambitious trade agreements, and international economic relations with diverse partners allowing for a resilient global economy.
• Promote cyber-resilience as the basis for trust in digitalization – we call on the G7 to establish cooperation fora with industries in order to enhance the innovation potential and the overall capacities to tackle cyber-incidents and strengthen cryptography to promote trust in the digital transformation.
• Ensure equitable access to critical vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics globally - strong multilateral cooperation and collaboration, which includes public-private partnerships, will support successful outcomes.

Business leadership on the global stage 

CBI is committed to engaging with the G7/B7 process, in order to demonstrate business leadership, deepen government relations and benefit from peer-to-peer engagement with our sister federations. Member engagement throughout the process proved vital in shaping CBI’s input and we look forward to continued engagement under the Japanese presidency next year. 

Want to get involved?

If you want to find out more information about CBI’s work at G7/G20 level, get in touch with Emily Ritchey.