Carbis Bay (United Kingdom) (AFP)

The leaders of the great powers of the G7 on Friday kicked off a three-day summit aiming to put the world back on its feet after the pandemic, in particular by distributing a billion anti-Covid vaccines.

Pandemic obliges, the heads of state and government nudged each other and stood at a distance for the traditional family photo, on the beach of the English seaside resort of Carbis Bay, in Cornwall.

This meeting, the first in person in almost two years, allows the return of work meetings but also discreet aside to move forward on the crises of the moment.

Joe Biden had already set the tone, signaling that the summit marked the "return" of the United States on the international scene after the isolationist years of Donald Trump.

"I look forward to strengthening our commitment to multilateralism and working with our allies and partners to build a more just and inclusive world economy. Get to work," the US president said on Twitter.

It seeks to rally a united front among its partners against Russia and China, which has already criticized the American desire to form "cliques".

- One billion vaccines -

On the official program are above all the recovery of a global economy hit by the pandemic and the more equitable sharing of anti-Covid vaccines by the rich countries, which have monopolized a maximum of doses to the detriment of the poorest.

Faced with increasing calls for solidarity, leaders should agree to provide "at least a billion doses" with the goal of "ending the pandemic in 2022", according to Downing Street.

The United States has already promised to give 500 million doses, and the British 100 million, mainly via the Covax sharing device.

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Insufficient, deplore NGOs like Oxfam, stressing that at least 11 billion doses are needed to eradicate the pandemic which has already claimed 3.7 million lives worldwide.

They plead for the suspension of patents on vaccines in order to allow mass production.

Washington and Paris are in favor, unlike Germany.

- Chinese challenge -

The fight against global warming will be the summit's other priority, which aims to be carbon neutral, before the major UN climate conference (COP26) scheduled for November in Scotland.

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson aims for a "green industrial revolution", with the aim of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

To preserve biodiversity, he wants the G7 to commit to protecting "at least 30%" of land and oceans by this deadline.

The club of seven is also expected to promote investment in green infrastructure in developing countries to stimulate and decarbonize their economies.

Another hot topic at the top of the agenda is the challenges facing China and Russia.

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"The European line in this regard is clear: China is a systemic rival, a partner on global issues, and a competitor. The Europeans intend to continue implementing this common strategy and will have the opportunity to discuss it with President Biden at this G7, "said a source at the Elysee Palace.

Before the summit's launch, Boris Johnson and Joe Biden on Thursday displayed a united front on the climate emergency, approving a new "Atlantic Charter" celebrating the historic alliance between their countries.

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They had put aside in public the tensions over Northern Ireland, at the heart of a post-Brexit dispute between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

The European leaders, for their part, intend to remind Boris Johnson of their attachment to the signed agreements, which London wants to question in the face of the anger in the British province.

According to local police, 3,000 people demonstrated in Belfast on Thursday evening against the new post-Brexit arrangements.

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To French President Emmanuel Macron, who warned the British government on Thursday that the agreements signed were not "renegotiable", the head of British diplomacy Dominic Raab replied on Friday that "the integrity of the United Kingdom" was not negotiable.

© 2021 AFP