India, too, will have to get its act together

While immediate public attention at the G20 summit was focused, naturally, on world leaders’ reaction to the terror strikes on Paris, the grouping of the world’s largest economies and heads of key international organizations moved ahead with its work on trying to bring coherence to the economic policies of different countries. This is a tedious but necessary, in fact, vital, process. The leaders’ communique, for example, deplores US failure to ratify the reform of the International Monetary Fund to better represent the changed economic clout of emerging markets. Soon, it would be India’s turn to be named and shamed, if it continues to drag its feet on trade facilitation: the leaders call upon all countries to complete work of the World Trade Organization’s outstanding agenda.

On climate change, the G20 has refused to waffle on the objective of containing a rise in global temperature within two degrees Celsius. The forthcoming Paris meet on climate change will have to see real trade-offs between common obligations and differentiated responsibilities, to meet this goal set for change in the global temperature. The G20 has further endorsed the OECD-led move to end tax avoidance by multinational companies with the help of small countries that serve as tax havens. With reiteration of the G20’s commitment to identifying the beneficial ownership of companies, unavoidable both to stop terror financing and tax dodging, businesses and businessmen should start a countdown to prepare for such transparency, instead of hoping this would be a passing obsession. Transparency in ownership and tax will be real.

While not part of the communique, the reported narrowing of differences over what to do with Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad between western powers and Russia is a key development. While no one mentioned Iran in this context, it would be futile to expect a rational solution to the problems associated with Syria, whether the Islamic State or the flow of Muslim refugees into Christendom, to emerge without Iran’s involvement. India should offer its good offices in this regard, but quietly

Data that may be helpful:

Meanings:-

• Ratify : -  sign or give formal consent to
• clout :- influence or power, especially in politics or business.

Important Points:-

• United Nations Climate Change Conference 2015 :-  COP 21 or CMP 11 will be held in Paris, from November 30 to December 11. It will be the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.[3] The conference objective is to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, from all the nations of the world.
• United Nations Climate Change Conference 2014 :- COP20 or CMP10 was held in Lima, Peru, from December 1 to 12, 2014. 

Source :- Economic Times, 17- Nov- 2015