Context: Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations have pledged more than 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses to poorer nations and vowed to help developing countries grow their economies in fighting climate change. At the 44th G7 Summit, leaders agreed to challenge China’s non-market economic practices and call out Beijing for rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. 

• Speaking at the G7 Summit 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is a natural ally for the G7 countries in defending the shared values from a host of threats stemming from authoritarianism, terrorism, and violent extremism, disinformation, and economic coercion. 
• In this edition of Big Picture we analyse the key takeaways from the G7 Summit. 

Key Points

• Earlier, the Finance Ministers from the G7 nations reached a landmark accord setting a Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate (GMCTR).
• Apart from India, Australia and South Korea were also invited to participate in the proceedings of the summit as “guest countries”.
• This year’s summit was hosted by the UK. The last G-7 summit was in France in 2019, with last year’s event in the US canceled due to the pandemic.

Key Outcomes
Build Back Better for the World Project

• It is aimed squarely at competing with China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, which has been widely criticised for saddling small countries with unmanageable debt but has included even G7 member Italy since launching in 2013.
• It will collectively catalyse hundreds of billions of infrastructure investment for low- and middle-income countries (in Asia and Africa) and offer a values-driven, high-standard and transparent partnership with G7.

Democracies 11

• Signed off on a joint statement (Democracies 11) by G-7 and guest countries on “open societies” that reaffirm and encourage the values of freedom of expression, both online and offline, as a freedom that safeguards democracy and helps people live free from fear and oppression.
• The statement also refers to politically motivated internet shutdowns as one of the threats to freedom and democracy.
• While the statement is directed at China and Russia, India has been under scrutiny over Internet curbs in Jammu and Kashmir even as the Government is locked in a face-off over its New IT rules 2021 with tech giants.
• Democracies 11 is facing threats to freedom and democracy from rising authoritarianism, electoral interference, corruption, economic coercion, manipulation of information, including disinformation, online harms and cyber attacks, politically motivated internet shutdowns, human rights violations and abuses, terrorism and violent extremism.

Carbis Bay Declaration

• The G7 signed the Carbis Bay Declaration. It is aimed at preventing future pandemics.
• The G7 also pledged over 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses for poorer nations with half of that coming from the United States and 100 million from Britain.
• 11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate at least 70% of the world’s population by mid-2022.
• The doses would come both directly and through the international COVAX program.

Climate Change

• Renewed a pledge to raise their contributions to meet an overdue spending pledge of USD 100 billion a year to help poorer countries cut carbon emissions.
• Promised to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
• Pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Against China

• The G-7 statement which was not signed by India and other outreach countries hit out at China on “human rights and fundamental freedoms” in Xinjiang (Uyghur Muslims) and Hong Kong, and the unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the South China Sea.
• It also called for a transparent and timely World Health Organization’s Covid origins study in China.
• India had also called for the same in a statement during the World Health Assembly.

India’s Stand

• India is a natural ally for the G7 countries in defending the shared values from a host of threats stemming from authoritarianism, terrorism and violent extremism, disinformation and economic coercion.
• Expressed concerns that open societies are particularly vulnerable to disinformation and cyber-attacks.
• It sought the support of the grouping to lift patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines.
• Planet’s atmosphere, biodiversity and oceans cannot be protected by countries acting in silos, and called for collective action on climate change.
• India is the only G-20 country on track to meet its Paris commitments.
• Developing countries need better access to climate finance, and called for a holistic approach towards climate change that covers mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer, climate financing, equity, climate justice and lifestyle change.
• Highlighted the revolutionary impact of digital technologies on social inclusion and empowerment in India through applications such as Aadhaar, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar- Mobile) trinity.

About Group of Seven (G7)

• It is an intergovernmental organisation that was formed in 1975.
• The bloc meets annually to discuss issues of common interest like global economic governance, international security and energy policy.
• The G7 countries are the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.
• All the G7 countries and India are a part of G20.
• The G7 does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters. The decisions taken by leaders during annual summits are non-binding.

Road Ahead

• G7 submit was a success and it was good to see world leaders meeting in person, several positive decision were taken especially on the China front and on vaccines, seeing Trans Atlantic nations speaking in one voice comes as a very positive development. The question now is can they stay together there is a realization now among the G7 countries that democracy matters. India is in the poll position with regards to trust, we have to pull up our stocks and take advantage of the situation, we have to economically work with US and the rest of G7 countries and further our collective interests. The right decisions have been made but once again implementation is going to be key Let's see how thats plan out.