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Reaching a New Peak in G7 Summit Decision Making in 2022
John Kirton, G7 Research Group
December 23, 2022
Almost all G7 summits, taking place in person or virtually, issue outcome documents that publicly and authoritatively report what G7 leaders have discussed and collectively decided to do. From these documents, the G7 Research Group, based at the University of Toronto, identifies and analyzes the commitments — the precise, future oriented, politically binding statements of what the G7 leaders at the summit have decided to do.
During 2022 as a whole, G7 leaders held a new high of five summits and issued additional five statements, for a total of 10 (see Appendix A). Six were in the first half of the year, from February to June, spurred by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Four were in the autumn, from October to December. Two of the in-person summits were held on the margins of a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization members in Brussels and, for the first time, during a G20 summit, in Bali.
Together these 10 summits and statements produced 767 commitments, far more than in any year since the G7 summit started in 1975. They were led by the 547 commitments at the regular summit at Elmau in June, followed by 52 made on February 24, and 49 made on December 12.
At their virtual summit on December 12, 2022, as the culmination of Germany's year as G7 host in 2022, the G7 leaders made 49 commitments (see Appendix B). They were led by those on Russia's war against Ukraine with 25 (for 51%), followed by climate change with six (12%), gender with four (8%), biodiversity and infrastructure with three each (6%), and macroeconomic policy, development, food and agriculture, and health, with two each (4%).
Commitments can be considered as either high or low binding. High-binding commits are those where the G7 promises to do more than they have before, including to do something new. Low-binding commitments are those where the G7 promises to do as much as, or less, than they have before (e.g., "we reaffirm," "we will continue to").
Of the 49 commitments G7 leaders made on December 12, there were 32 (65%) high-binding ones and 17 (35%) were low binding. On Russia–Ukraine, 64% of the commitments were high binding and 36% were low binding. On climate change, 66% were high binding and 33% were low binding. Those on gender were split evenly. On both biodiversity and infrastructure, 100% were high binding.
By subject, the distribution of commitments on December 12 was significantly different than that of the 547 commitments made by G7 leaders at their regular annual in-person summit six months earlier, at Elmau on June 26–28 (see Appendix C). At Elmau the 63 commitments on regional security stood first, but took only 12% of the total, whereas on December 12 they soared to a majority of 51% (including many commitments that dealt with energy in this context). Climate change again stood second, at about the same portion, with 11% at Elmau and 12% on December 12. A big change came on gender: at Elmau it ranked 10th, with 22 commitments (4%), but on December 12 it ranked third, with 4 commitments (8%). Moreover, at Elmau the environment as a whole ranked seventh with 36 commitments (7%), whereas on December 12 the biodiversity component alone had three commitments (6%). Not surprisingly, the regular Elmau Summit made commitments on 25 subjects, whereas the much shorter December 12 one did so on only nine.
Date |
Type |
Commitments |
February 24 |
Statement |
52 |
March 11 |
Statement |
19 |
March 24 |
Summit, Brussels, NATO |
30 |
April 7 |
Statement |
17 |
May 8 |
Statement |
27 |
June 26–28 |
Summit, Elmau |
547 |
October 11 |
Summit, videoconference |
13 |
November 16 |
Summit, with NATO, at G20 Bali Summit |
03 |
December 2 |
Statement, with Australia |
10 |
December 12 |
Summit, Videoconference |
49 |
Total |
10 (5 summits, 5 statements) |
767 |
Identified by John Kirton on December 17, 2022
Subject | Number |
Percentage |
Russia–Ukraine |
25 |
51 |
Climate change |
6 |
12 |
Gender |
4 |
8 |
Biodiversity |
3 |
6 |
Infrastructure |
3 |
6 |
Macroeconomics |
2 |
4 |
Development |
2 |
4 |
Food and agriculture |
2 |
4 |
Health |
2 |
4 |
Total |
49 |
100 |
Subject |
Total |
% |
Leaders' Communiqué |
Executive Summary |
Climate Club |
G7 Statement on Support for Ukraine |
Annex to G7 Statement on Support for Ukraine |
Chair's Summary: Joining Forces to Accelerate Clean and Just Transition towards Climate Neutrality |
Democratic Resiliencies Statement |
Statement on the Missile Attack on a Shopping Mall in Kremenchuck |
Statement on Global Food Security |
Regional security |
63 |
12% |
19 |
9 |
|
28 |
3 |
|
|
4 |
|
Climate change |
58 |
11% |
41 |
4 |
4 |
|
|
4 |
5 |
|
|
Energy |
51 |
9% |
32 |
4 |
|
3 |
|
10 |
2 |
|
|
Human rights |
44 |
8% |
24 |
3 |
|
13 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
|
Democracy |
42 |
8% |
15 |
4 |
|
1 |
|
|
22 |
|
|
Health |
41 |
7% |
35 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
Environment |
36 |
7% |
33 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Food and agriculture |
35 |
6% |
4 |
4 |
|
2 |
|
|
1 |
|
24 |
Digital economy |
25 |
5% |
23 |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
Gender |
22 |
4% |
18 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
Trade |
19 |
3% |
11 |
1 |
|
6 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Macroeconomics |
19 |
3% |
14 |
3 |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Crime and corruption |
16 |
3% |
6 |
|
|
6 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
Peace and security |
15 |
3% |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
Development |
14 |
3% |
11 |
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
Labour and employment |
13 |
2% |
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Infrastructure |
8 |
1% |
5 |
1 |
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
Non-proliferation |
7 |
1% |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
International cooperation |
6 |
1% |
5 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Terrorism |
3 |
0.5% |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
Social policy |
3 |
0.5% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
IFI/IGO reform |
2 |
0.3% |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
International taxation |
2 |
0.3% |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
Social policy |
1 |
0.2% |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accountability |
1 |
0.2% |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
547 |
100% |
324 |
38 |
5 |
65 |
3 |
14 |
69 |
5 |
24 |
IFI = international financial institution; IGO = intergovernmental organization.
Identified by Brittaney Warren, June 28, 2022.
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