Authorities and scientists representing G20 members finalized a document with recommendations to the bloc’s leaders on Tuesday (2), the date that marked the last day of the Science20 Summit (S20), held in Rio de Janeiro. One of the highlights was the defense of regulations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and the creation of policies that ensure a balance between innovation, job security and workers’ rights.
In addition to AI, four other thematic axes are part of the final document: bioeconomy, energy transition process, health challenges and social justice. The event, which had the motto “Science for global transformation”, was led by Helena Nader, president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC). She highlighted the importance of Brazil being at the forefront of the process and seeking to reduce inequalities among the G20 members.
“The Global North is not concerned, it is not looking as it should at the needs of the Global South. The G20 can help change this. Brazil is occupying a leadership position and can make changes within the group. And with that, it can push to ensure the social engagements that the science and technology area is seeking,” said Helena Nader.
“We had very significant participation from China here, as well as from South Africa. This facilitated greater convergence.”
On the artificial intelligence axis, the main recommendations of S20 were:
- Create policies in an AI-driven economy to ensure job security and workers’ rights. These policies should be flexible and adaptable and grounded in shared ethical principles, which will ensure innovation while reducing social risks;
- contribute to establishing AI regulations and data governance standards that benefit all countries fairly and uphold human values;
- work together to create and share large sets of valuable, well-curated scientific data while respecting data governance.
On the topic of bioeconomy, the recommendation is that G20 countries should reach a consensus on the role of bioeconomy as one of the strategies to address climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty and human and non-human health.
On the energy transition, the document says that overall efforts to reduce emissions in the energy transition process should be based on increasing the use of low-emission energy sources. This includes nuclear and renewable energy, in a mix that varies from country to country, moving towards the phasing out of coal.
Carbon capture, utilization and storage, together with market-based approaches such as carbon pricing on a global scale, must be used to minimize CO2 emissions from fossil fuels as we move away from these sources towards a low-emissions energy future.
In the axis on health challenges:
- ensure global access to essential vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tools for all. Promote sustainable local and regional production through capacity building in research, innovation, knowledge sharing and technology transfer;
- promote effective communication strategies to disseminate health information, combat misinformation and conduct health campaigns;
- leverage global resources focused on the health impacts of climate and environmental change, with a focus on groups with known vulnerabilities, such as those exposed to extreme weather events.
Regarding social justice:
- expand infrastructure for universal internet access;
- increase digital literacy to ensure that all segments of society benefit from digital advances;
- formulate inclusive and equitable approaches to digital development;
- address science-related misinformation in digital media to avoid adverse impacts on society, while developing national, regional and global strategies involving scientific communities and civil society.
S20 Dome
Representatives of the Academies of Sciences of South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, United States, France, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom, Turkey and the European Academy, representing the European Union, came to Brazil for the S20 Summit.
The S20 received financial support from the Brazilian Studies and Projects Funding Agency (Finep) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). Created in 2017, it acts as the G20’s engagement group for the area of science and technology. The debates take place every year and are always coordinated by the Academy of Sciences of the country that presides over the G20. Previous meetings were hosted by Germany (2017), Argentina (2018), Japan (2019), Saudi Arabia (2020), Italy (2021), Indonesia (2022) and India (2023).
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Source: CNN Brasil
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