G20 2014 Brisbane

Photo by Reuters

The annual Group of Twenty (G20) Summit is happening this weekend in Brisbane.  Made up of 19 countries and the European Union (all the world's major economies), the G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation and decision-making.  This afternoon US President Barack Obama gave a wide-ranging speech at the University of Queensland to 1,000 people.  He touched on the United States' commitment to the Asia-Pacific, human rights and climate change, where he pledged US$3 billion to the United Nations Green Climate Fund to help support developing nations dealing with the impacts of climate change.  Needless to say this is a much more proactive agenda than is currently being offered by the Commonwealth Government here.