POLICY AREAS
The following policy areas reflect important threads of the G20 work agenda that are of interest to G20 policy makers. Please choose your area of interest and find the respective policy recommendations on the following pages.
Overarching Visions
Visions help policymakers think about the principles for designing policies and help them communicate policies to the public. The Visions aim to align the policy objectives of different G20 member states.
- The Socioeconomics of Pandemics Policy
- Toward Global Paradigm Change
- Turning Sustainable Finance into Mainstream Finance
- Repurposing our Economies – and our Businesses
- Technological Change, Inequality and The Collapse of the Liberal Order
Latest Policy Briefs
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Africa’s moment: How youth and natural resources can drive the continent’s global economic and social leadership now
Africa’s countries are rich in two invaluable assets: a burgeoning youth population and vast natural resources. These represent a remarkable opportunity for the continent at a time when industrialised nations are looking for new sources of talent and the push for sustainable industries and resources is at an all-time high. Africa’s assets can unleash massive economic growth but doing so while centering Africa’s people and resources will require focusing on four elements — establishing a local-first approach, strengthening the education and skilling systems, creating ample ‘good jobs’ and supporting entrepreneurs, and utilising technology to support and develop high-growth, including ‘green’, industries.
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The economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs in a post-Covid World
Women across the world are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, reversing gains in gender equality made in recent decades. Women-led businesses have been more negatively impacted economically, especially in sectors hardest hit by the pandemic.1 The G20 must take urgent actions to promote gender equality by economically empowering women-led businesses in the post-COVID world. Public–private sector schemes that accelerate technology adoption, innovation and digital skills training for women entrepreneurs and strengthen financing and fiscal assistance for women-led businesses should be actively supported and encouraged.
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International coordination and policy instruments to promote a hydrogen economy: a focus on the steel-making industry
In the last three years, green hydrogen has been gaining significant momentum. Hydrogen will become a key component of decarbonisation strategies, enabling low-carbon energy storage and transportation. Producing cost-competitive hydrogen is difficult because of insufficient technology and manufacturing readiness levels, lack of scale and lack of political support. Economies of scale for hydrogen production could be achieved by introducing hydrogen in global industries which are major CO2 emitters. One of those is steel-making, accounting for roughly 7% of global CO2 emissions. This policy brief evaluates pathways and suggests enabling policy mechanisms for decarbonizing the steel industry and for the deployment of green hydrogen at scale.
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Climate change, food security, and central banks in developing economies
Climate change represents a rapidly emerging challenge for central banks, particularly in developing economies. Central banks have tools to increase the economy’s resilience, enable reallocation of resources to reduce costs and grasp opportunities, and smooth the transition to a low carbon economy. Specific measures, such as changes to selected macroprudential rules, merit consideration. The climate challenge also highlights two traditional mandates. First, price and financial stability support investment and long-term price discovery, both crucial to climate response. Second, central banks are already critical providers of information to public and private decision-makers. Creation and dissemination of knowledge that facilitates improved decision-making by public and private actors (notably investors) may be central banks’ most important contribution to more favourable social, economic, and environmental outcomes in a context of climate change. The T20 can play important roles in facilitating this knowledge acquisition by central banks in developing countries.
* The views expressed in this note are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the South African Reserve Bank or Reserve Bank policy. While every precaution is taken to ensure the accuracy of information, the South African Reserve Bank shall not be liable to any person for inaccurate information or opinions contained herein.
In The Spotlight

Mainstreaming Sustainability and Global Cooperation will Need Reforms on the Global Financial System JAKARTA, 21 FEBRUARY 2022. G20 has always been a forum that recognizes the importance of collective action and inclusive collaboration among major developed and emerging economies worldwide. Inclusive collaboration […]
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Think 20 Dialogue
The Global Solutions Initiative supports the T20 process for think tanks by linking the recommendations of past G20 Presidencies with the current G20 Presidency and generating recommendations that serve to recouple economies, polities, and the environment with social prosperity. In 2020, the T20 process is being led by the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center under the Saudi Arabia G20-Presidency. Past Think20 Summits were held by Italy in Rome on October 30-31, 2021, by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on November 21-22, 2020, by Japan in Tokyo on May 26-27, 2019. Learn more about the G20 Insights platform.
Global Solutions Summit
The annual Global Solutions Summit held by the Global Solutions Initiative brings together international research organizations, thought-leaders, and decision-makers from politics, business, and civil communities. The Summit aims to provide policy recommendations on major G20 issues and to serve as a stepping stone in the Think20 and G20 calendar. The next Global Solutions Summit under the Indonesian G20 Presidency will take place in Berlin, Germany on March 28th and 29th, 2022. More information will be available soon.
Contributing Think Tanks
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World Health Summit
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Council on Economic Policies
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Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering
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Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
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International Development Research Centre
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Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
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Green Alliance
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acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering
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GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies
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Institute for Social Futures, Lancaster University, U.K.
- Arthur Kroeger College, Carleton University
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Zhejiang University Center for Internet and Financial Innovation
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G20 Research Group
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Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW)
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Johann Wolfgang Goethe University
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HSRC BRICS Research Centre
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Chinese Academy of Engineering
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Oxford Martin School (OMS)
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Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
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World Resources Institute
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Columbia University
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RWI – Leibniz-Institute for Economic Research
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Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
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Hiroshima University
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The Bridge Tank
- CanCham Singapore
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Elcano Royal Institute
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Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU)
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Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV)
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German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
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University of St. Gallen
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The Brookings Institution
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El Colegio de México
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European School of Management and Technology (ESMT Berlin)
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African Tax Administration Forum
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Georgetown University
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South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)
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Centre International de Recherche sur l’Environnement et le Développement (CIRED)
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Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
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Zeppelin University gGmbH (ZU)
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International Organization for Migration
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Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)
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Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)
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GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
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Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
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Institute for International Trade, University of Adelaide
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Hertie School
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International Panel for Social Progress (IPSP)
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ASAP, Asociación Argentina de Presupuesto y Administración Financiera Pública
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ISEAL Alliance
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Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association
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Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
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AICGS – Johns Hopkins University
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Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB)
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Centro de Implementacion de Politicas Publicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC)
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OECD
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World Inequality Lab – Paris School of Economics
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Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)
- Foresight Synergy Network, University of Ottawa
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FutureWorld Foundation
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Bruegel
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Grupo de Paises Productores del Sur (GPS)
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Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
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Michigan State University (MSU)
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Sophia University
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Global Solutions Initiative
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University College London
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Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
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Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
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Asbar World Forum
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Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCIS)
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Climate Transparency
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Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
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Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI)
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Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS)
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Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
- OS MicroTrends
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CEPS
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Agencia Ecología Urbana Barcelona
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Observer Research Foundation (ORF)
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International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
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Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)
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RCU
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Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e.V.
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Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
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World Energy Council
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PwC
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Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
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Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)
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Institute for New Economic Thinking
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Center for Development Research (ZEF)