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Editors note: This global perspectives roundup is a new feature of the Council of Councils initiative, gathering opinions from global experts on major international developments. In this edition, Council of Councils members offer their perspectives on the upcoming G20 leaders summit, which will be held in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7–8.  

The Group of Twenty (G20) leaders summit is set to take place in Bali, Indonesia, on November 15 and 16 at a time of expanding global divisions. Strategic competition is increasing tensions between the United States and China, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is reverberating echoes of a possible new cold war, and divergent economic policies could further exacerbate gaps between advanced economies and emerging and developing countries.

Editors note: This global perspectives roundup is a new feature of the Council of Councils initiative, gathering opinions from global experts on major international developments. In this edition, Council of Councils members offer their perspectives on the impact of President-Elect Trump on global cooperation and offer some advice for the incoming administration. 

The world is enduring the most complex and interdependent set of challenges in recent memory, and global summits continue to play an indispensable role in driving and coordinating commitments to govern an unruly world. Even when summits are heavily scripted, they give leaders a rare opportunity for face-to-face discussions—something sorely missed during COVID-19—which can strengthen relationships and increase mutual understanding.

The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed global summits and undermined the ability of leaders to act on issues that imperil the safety, security, and well-being of every nation’s citizens, including climate change, biodiversity loss, intellectual property rules, and nuclear risks. The unprecedented joint health and economic crisis is also exacerbating divisions between developing and developed countries amid an increasingly polarized U.S.-China rivalry and escalating Russian aggression.

The Conference of Parties (COP 20) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will convene a critical session in Lima December 1–12. It precedes COP 21, to be held in Paris in December 2015, at which a post-Kyoto global agreement (post 2020) on climate change must be finalized, in accordance with the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action. The outline of the Paris agreement is expected to begin to take shape in Lima. This agreement will determine the ambition and contours of the global response to climate change in the years ahead.

There are a lot of perks to being a world leader. Attending far-flung conferences, it’s safe to say, is not one of them. But however much Barack Obama and his counterparts grouse about jet lag, global summits will continue to play an indispensable part in governing an unruly world. Even when overly choreographed and scripted, these events give presidents and prime ministers a rare opportunity to establish a personal rapport, speak candidly on tough items, and break logjams to international cooperation. Herewith, a calendar of the seven summits to watch in 2015.

This year saw many challenging developments: global temperatures shattering records, conflicts raging around the world, growing food insecurity, and the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. In 2024, global summits will continue to play a crucial role in bringing world leaders together to drive commitments and coordinate responses to these and other pressing issues.  

The most pressing issues facing the world today are rapidly evolving. The environmental effects of climate change are accelerating and threatening the health and livelihoods of millions. Emerging technologies have few guardrails, despite the rapid pace of their development, causing far-reaching implications for labor, health, privacy, and ethics.