OP-ED: The G20 face three big tests

Vaccines, an economic lifeline to debt-ridden countries, and climate change -- these should be the world’s focus right now
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve heard a lot about global solidarity. Unfortunately, words by themselves will not end the pandemic -- or curb the impact of the climate crisis. Now is the moment to show what solidarity means in practice. As G20 finance ministers meet in Venice, they face three crucial solidarity tests: On vaccines, on extending an economic lifeline to the developing world, and on climate.     

First, vaccines. A global vaccination gap threatens us all. While Covid-19 circulates among unvaccinated people, it continues to mutate into variants that could be more transmissible, more deadly, or both. We are in a race between vaccines and variants; if the variants win, the pandemic could kill millions more people and delay a global recovery for years.