Brazil’s president opened the second day of the G20 Summit by calling for more action to slow global warming, saying developed nations must speed up their initiatives to reduce harmful emissions.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva focused Tuesday’s session on environmental challenges, saying developed nations should consider moving their 2050 emission goals forward to 2040 or 2045.

“The G20 is responsible for 80% of greenhouse effect emissions,” Lula said. “Even if we are not walking the same speed, we can all take one more step.”

During the summit, which was held at Rio de Janeiro’s Modern Art Museum, G20 leaders gathered to discuss changes in the world order from heightened global tensions to changes on the international political stage.

The agenda focused on working to reinforce multilateral cooperation before US President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January.

EU leaders also took the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.

In a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s commitment to strengthening relations with China and insisted that the two countries shared the same views on promoting peace in Ukraine.

“The world in which we live, as you just reminded us, is made up of instabilities, tensions and growing wars. And I believe that we truly share a common vision in upholding the United Nations Charter and promoting a peace agenda,” Macron told Jinping.

“We meet again on the 1000 day of the War of Aggression launched by Russia against Ukraine, and I know that you share, as we do, the desire for a lasting peace, respectful of the United Nations Charter, and that you share, as we do, the same concern after Russia’s bellicose and escalating declarations of nuclear doctrine,” he added.

A joint statement signed by representatives of the G20 nations on Monday night called for urgent humanitarian assistance and better protection of civilians caught up in conflicts in the Middle East, plus affirmed the Palestinian right to self-determination.

It also included Brazil’s proposal to tax billionaires’ income by 2%, focused on ways to eradicate world hunger and pledged to work for ‘transformative reform’ of the UN Security Council.

The once solidly “neutral” Nordic nations in Northern Europe are taking precautions to ready their citizens to be able to cope under war-like conditions as the security apparatus on the continent continues to deteriorate amid the war in Ukraine. 

Sweden on Monday issued pamphlets to millions giving directions on what to do in the event that war breaks out or the nation is hit with an unexpected crisis. 

The booklet, dubbed “In case of crisis or war,” has not only been updated from its previous version six years ago due to the worsening security situation in Europe, but it was also expanded and is nearly twice the size, reported the BBC.

US ALLIES ACCUSE RUSSIA OF ‘ESCALATING HYBRID ACTIVITIES’ AGAINST NATO, EU NATIONS AFTER DATA CABLES SEVERED

Issuing preparedness booklets out to its citizens is not new for Sweden, which has followed this practice since World War II when its first version titled “If War Comes” was reportedly distributed.

The guidance was updated during the Cold War, but one directive apparently highlighted in the middle of the booklet has been pushed forward noting that, “If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.”

Sweden, like Finland before it, joined NATO earlier this year after first announcing its bid to do so in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

French soldiers from the 93rd mountain artillery regiment operate the Camion Equipe d’un Systeme d’Artillerie, also known as CAESAR, a French 155 mm, 52-caliber self-propelled howitzer that can fire 39/52 caliber NATO-standard, during the NATO Exercise Dynamic Front, on Nov. 17, 2024 near Rovaniemi, in Finnish Lapland. (JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Sweden’s Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin has also been sounding the alarm that “there could be war in Sweden” in a move to urge officials to bolster Stockholm’s defenses faster.

Unlike Sweden, neighboring Finland maintained a stronger defensive posture given its shared border with Russia, despite maintaining a decades-long neutrality status following World War II.

1,000 DAYS OF WAR IN UKRAINE AS ZELENSKYY DOUBLES DOWN ON AERIAL OPTIONS WITH ATACMS, DRONES AND MISSILES

But Finland, which joined NATO in 2023, also distributed its crisis preparedness on Monday, though its guidance was released by means of a digital copy for its citizens due to the cost of printing the booklets, noted the BBC.

Finnish border guards speak to a group of Russian-speaking men trying to cross the border from Finland to Russia at Vaalimaa border check point in Virolahti, Finland, Dec. 15, 2023.  (Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS)

The Finnish government said it is “well-prepared for self-defense” and assured its citizens that hostile parties threatening Helsinki does not necessarily mean it will be presented through direct military force, noting that in the event of an emergency the Finns should be prepared in case of long power or water outages, as well as disruptions to banking or internet services.

Similarly, Norway, which was a NATO founding member in 1949, released a pamphlet urging Norwegians to be prepared to cope for up to a week in the event of war, crises or extreme weather.

Over 2 million copies were sent out, urging citizens to have canned foods, pasta, pet food, water, matches, candles, first aid kits and medicines in store, including iodine tablets.

Russian servicemen take a group photo near a US M2 Bradley fighting vehicle captured in Ukraine by Russian troops. Tanks and armored transports, previously used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and NATO allies and captured during operations in Kharkiv and Sumy. These exhibits feature machinery from the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Turkey, Finland, and Ukraine were on display in St. Petersburg. (Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“The tablets can protect against radioactive iodine in the event of nuclear accidents and must only be taken on instruction from the authorities,” the Norwegian government said in its instructions.

Denmark also encouraged its citizens over the summer to ensure they had three-days’ worth of essential items in store to help get through a crisis situation.

Western leaders continue to monitor Russia’s war in Ukraine very closely, and have warned Moscow that any attack on a NATO nation will result in a united response from all 32 nations.