Written by 
November 19, 2024
From day one of his Administration, President Biden pledged to restore U.S. leadership and strengthen our partnerships to make America more secure and prosperous. Taking office amid a devastating pandemic that had upended the global economy, President Biden recognized that we needed to work with partners to tackle big cross-border challenges.
President Biden’s leadership at the G20 has demonstrated the dividends that U.S. engagement yields for America and the world. Through the G20, the Biden-Harris Administration has delivered a landmark agreement to stop the race to the bottom in corporate taxation; launched a new fund to address pandemic threats; and helped unlock hundreds of billions of dollars of resources at the international financial institutions to advance development progress and tackle global challenges.
At the Rio Summit, President Biden continued this legacy of leadership by rallying his fellow leaders to unlock space for developing countries to invest in their futures, accelerate the global clean energy transition, tackle global health threats, and champion an inclusive digital transformation. He also built on the United States’ longstanding leadership on food security by joining the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.
President Biden continued his push for peace and stability around the world. He condemned Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine – which has exacerbated the crises facing developing countries – and affirmed the United States’ strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and called on his fellow leaders to do the same. President Biden also affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself while emphasizing that how it defends itself – even as Hamas cruelly hides among civilians – matters. He highlighted U.S. humanitarian aid to Gaza and made clear that the United States is pushing for a ceasefire deal that ensures Israel’s security, brings the hostages home, and ends the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. President Biden asked his fellow leaders to increase pressure on Hamas to stop refusing this deal.
Driving sustainable growth and development in developing countries
President Biden has built his economic agenda around the United States investing at home and unlocking additional resources to support investments in developing countries around the world.
Championing concessional finance from the World Bank for the poorest countries. President Biden announced the U.S. intent for a substantial increase in the U.S. contribution to the International Development Association (IDA), the arm of the World Bank that supports the poorest and most vulnerable countries. The Biden Administration intends to pledge $4 billion over three years to the ongoing IDA replenishment, subject to Congressional approval. A better and bigger IDA is critical to unlocking space for developing countries to invest in their futures. President Biden has heard loud and clear the calls from developing countries for more concessional financing and a strong IDA replenishment in December. This pledge will sustain U.S. leadership as the largest historical donor to IDA and joins other countries that are stepping up to support IDA recipients with critical, sustainable investments in their development. At the Rio Summit, President Biden called on existing donors to follow the U.S. example by increasing support and on new donors to start contributing.
Equipping the multilateral development banks (MDBs) to address global challenges. The Biden-Harris Administration has spearheaded a broad coalition to equip the MDBs to better address global challenges like climate change, pandemics, and fragility and conflict. Over the last two years, this leadership has led to enormous strides in reforming the MDBs’ visions, incentives, and operations to make them more efficient and responsive to countries’ development needs. Reforms already identified could boost lending capacity by up to nearly $360 billion over the next decade, giving the MDBs the resources they need to tackle global challenges with greater speed and scale. At the Rio Summit, President Biden reiterated his request for Congress to approve funding to boost World Bank lending capacity by $36 billion, recognized the G20 members that have made their own contributions to this U.S.-led effort, and called on fellow leaders to match this with their own contributions.
Unlocking space for developing countries to invest in sustainable growth and development. High debt service burdens are preventing developing countries from making critical investments in their futures – many low-income countries spend more servicing their debt than on health, education, and social programs combined. Building on the Nairobi-Washington Vision that he launched with President Ruto of Kenya in May 2024, President Biden called on the G20 to provide a pathway for sustainable growth for these countries that would bring together the international community to provide stepped-up support for countries facing constraints from debt servicing burdens, but whose debts are sustainable. Under this plan, the IMF and MDBs would deliver enhanced support packages that incorporate ambitious reform and investment agendas; bilateral creditors would provide net positive financial flows to end free-riding; and MDBs and G20 countries would deploy their tools to unlock private financing. As part of this plan, the U.S. government is employing its multilateral and bilateral tools to step up financing for vulnerable countries. This includes finalizing the U.S. contribution of $21 billion to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust.
Calling for faster debt relief for countries with unsustainable burdens. President Biden pushed for making the debt restructuring process faster and more predictable to reduce the hardship on the people of indebted countries. President Biden called on G20 countries to swiftly provide debt relief to countries who need it and advocated for accelerating the restructuring process, including by improving the G20 Common Framework.
Furthering the global clean energy transition
After a historic visit to the Amazon that highlighted his legacy of spearheading the most significant domestic climate and conservation action in history and leading global efforts to tackle the climate crisis through a historic pledge to increase U.S. international climate finance to over $11 billion a year by 2024, President Biden rallied G20 leaders in Rio to raise their climate ambition and develop innovative solutions to support the clean energy transition.
Launching the Brazil-U.S. Partnership for the Energy Transition. Presidents Biden and Lula announced a new partnership to elevate ongoing bilateral efforts in clean energy production, clean energy supply chain development, and green industrialization. This partnership builds on longstanding efforts under the U.S.-Brazil Energy Forum and the Strategic Minerals Dialogue. This partnership will also help mobilize private sector investment in the energy transition through engagement under the Clean Energy Industry Dialogue and the recently signed cooperation framework agreement between the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank.
Globalizing the U.S. clean energy industrial strategy. The United States has demonstrated that investing in the energy transition is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unlock clean growth, good jobs, high-standard investment, and energy security. This vision is reflected in a number of bilateral clean energy industrial partnerships President Biden has established, including the new Brazil-U.S. Partnership for the Energy Transition, Roadmap For U.S.-India Initiative to Build Safe and Secure Global Clean Energy Supply Chains, and U.S.-Kenya Climate and Clean Energy Industrial Partnership. These efforts are further cemented in the multilateral Clean Energy Finance Mission Statement released on the margins of the G20 under the leadership of the United Kingdom and Brazil to mobilize finance in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) for green industrialization and building resilient and diverse clean energy supply chains.
U.S. leadership in financing the global clean energy transition. Alongside the Clean Energy Finance Mission Statement, the United States announced a major $325 million contribution to the Clean Technology Fund, a highly concessional fund designed to support the scaling and diversification of clean energy supply chains in eligible EMDEs. The United States has also separately extended $2 billion in shareholder guarantees through the World Bank to catalyze India’s and Indonesia’s investments in the clean energy economy.
Reforming the multilateral climate funds. After leading the effort to equip the MDBs to better address global challenges like climate change, the United States is working with others to reform the vertical climate and environmental funds as the next frontier in the evolution of the international financial architecture. Building on an independent review of the funds launched by the G20 this year, G20 leaders encouraged the funds to work together to unlock their full potential and improve access, including through enhanced cooperation with the MDBs. This call to action can pave the way for the funds to deliver finance at the speed and scale the climate crisis demands.
Strengthening the global health architecture
When he came into office, President Biden prioritized ending the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for future pandemics. At the Rio Summit, President Biden built on this legacy to continue tackling the threat of pandemics and delivering for global health.
Delivering for the Pandemic Fund. President Biden led the G20 to establish the Pandemic Fund in 2022 to help developing countries build capacity to prepare, prevent, and respond to the next pandemic. In its first two years, the Pandemic Fund has awarded $885 million in grants across 75 countries, including nearly $129 million for countries affected by the mpox public health emergency, and mobilized an additional $6 billion in co-financing and co-investment for project implementation, delivering support that is making America – and the world – safer from the next pandemic threat. The United States is championing an ambitious $2 billion replenishment of the Pandemic Fund and leading the way by pledging up to $667 million by 2026, subject to Congressional approval. At the Rio Summit, the United States led a G20 call for new and increased contributions to reach the funding goal.
Responding to the threat of mpox. The United States galvanized the G20 to commit political and financial support to the mpox response and support the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank in creating a global mpox response financing tracker to identify and address gaps. The financing tracker, which will be launched soon, shows that countries have stepped up quickly, providing 90 percent of the resources needed to respond, including more than $540 million from the United States. The United States has also pledged to provide more than one million mpox vaccine doses to the response. Nearly 400,000 doses have already been allocated through WHO and Africa CDC’s Access and Allocation mechanism; the remaining doses will be allocated as guided by country requirements.
Restoring immunization services to better than pre-pandemic levels. In June, the United States pledged at least $1.58 billion over the next five years to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the first-ever five-year pledge and the largest-ever U.S. pledge. In Rio, President Biden called on other countries to come forward with their own ambitious pledges in support of Gavi’s goal of vaccinating an additional 500 million children and saving at least 8 million lives. In September 2024, DFC expanded its donor liquidity partnership with Gavi, building on support put in place during COVID-19. The $1 billion Rapid Financing Facility will allow Gavi to access funds from donors making new pledges for pandemic response or routine immunization much faster.
Ending HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria as public health threats by 2030. The Biden-Harris Administration has invested more than $26 billion in the HIV/AIDS response. Through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Administration has supported more than 20 million people on lifesaving treatment and reached millions more with effective HIV prevention programs. In 2022, President Biden led the largest ever replenishment for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund), raising more than $15.7 billion in donor pledges, including a U.S. pledge of $6 billion over three years. President Biden also sustained robust bilateral funding for the President’s Malaria Initiative, which provided more than $3 billion for malaria to support 30 countries who together account for around 90 percent of all malaria cases and deaths globally.
Addressing the environmental determinants of health. President Biden led G20 members to emphasize the importance of addressing One Health (human-animal-plant-environment) challenges such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and climate change. On AMR, the Administration has invested $1 billion to prevent infections and detect and respond to AMR and has finalized policies aimed at preventing the rise of AMR due to crop pesticide use. On climate and health, the Administration has included health as one of four key sectors for its PREPARE action plan. The over $3 billion invested through PREPARE supports resilient health systems while also supporting key life support systems such as food, water, and infrastructure. At home, the Administration has launched a first-of-its kind National Heat Strategy and secured the commitment of more than 960 health care companies to address their emissions and climate resilience.
Leading the fight against poverty and hunger
President Biden built on the United States’ longstanding leadership on global food security.
Accelerating progress on global food security. In the face of a protracted global food security crisis, the Biden-Harris Administration has led the fight against global hunger. Since 2021, the United States has committed more than $20 billion in funding in more than 47 countries to support emergency interventions and build more resilient and sustainable food systems to mitigate against future global food shocks. In 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration rallied more than 100 countries to endorse the UN Roadmap for Global Food Security, affirming the importance of tackling global food insecurity as an economic and national security imperative.
Launching G20 action on hunger and poverty. At the Rio Summit, President Biden joined G20 leaders to launch the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty to provide sustained political momentum and facilitate better alignment of financial resources and knowledge-sharing in support of efforts with a proven track record of impact in accelerating the eradication of poverty. As a member of the Alliance, the United States highlighted existing U.S.-led efforts to reduce malnutrition, increase women’s access to land tenure, and promote private sector investments in improved seed varieties globally. President Biden also highlighted a number of domestic efforts to lift millions of people in the United States out of poverty through the Social Security program, nutrition assistance, refundable tax credits, and benefits for disabled Americans.
Combatting corruption to drive sustainable and equitable development. Recognizing that corruption and weak governance impede the Sustainable Development Goals, the United States is working with partners to press for stronger action to prevent and counter corruption, including better enforcement by all G20 countries of foreign bribery laws and ensuring transparent, inclusive, and accountable public institutions.
Empowering workers
In September 2023, Presidents Biden and Lula launched the Partnership for Workers’ Rights, the first joint U.S.-Brazil initiative to advance the rights of working people around the world. The Partnership has tangibly improved the lives of workers through new initiatives and over $20 million of programming supported by the United States that:
Facilitated collaboration to prevent heat-related illnesses and promoted the use of mobile apps and other tools to help workers know when they are at risk of heat-related illnesses.
Advanced collaborative efforts with businesses, governments, and unions to tackle the root causes of forced labor and promote forced labor remediation, including in the cattle, coffee, gold mining, charcoal production, and other industries and supply chains.
Supported efforts to strengthen worker engagement in climate policy and promoted unionization and collective bargaining in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.
Supporting an inclusive and equitable digital future for all
Recognizing the potential of the digital transformation to empower people globally, President Biden advocated for an inclusive and equitable digital future for all in Rio.
Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for sustainable development and worker empowerment. President Biden joined other G20 Leaders in advocating to leverage the potential of AI to help solve global challenges, enable worker well-being, and ensure AI technologies are developed and used responsibly. The United States has demonstrated its commitment to achieving this goal by delivering on President Biden’s Executive Order on AI, particularly the AI in Global Development Playbook and the Global AI Research Agenda.
Making progress on universal and meaningful connectivity. President Biden proudly joined other G20 leaders in recognizing universal and meaningful connectivity as key to achieving digital inclusion. To help achieve this, DFC has approved a combined $630 million in financing for the Brazilian digital infrastructure company V.tal Rede Neutra De Telecomunicacoes S.A. (V.tal) to support the expansion of its fiber optic network across Brazil. DFC’s financing will enable more than 1 million homes and 4,000 schools to be connected to the Internet by 2027.
Investing through the Women in the Digital Economy Initiative. G20 leaders reaffirmed the historic commitment from the 2023 G20 Leaders’ Summit to halve the digital gender gap by 2030. In furtherance of this commitment, the United States announced the first round of global funding awards through the Women in the Digital Economy Initiative’s aligned fund. Ten organizations, spanning eight countries across East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, have been selected for their innovative solutions and impact in tackling the gender digital divide. These organizations will address barriers to equitable digital inclusion, such as access to affordable devices and online experiences; availability of relevant products and tools; digital literacy and skills; safety and security; and data and insights.
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