BRISBANE, Australia — As G20 summit host Brisbane sweltered through a heat wave, world leaders on Saturday got down to the business of cementing plans to drag a sagging global economy out of the doldrums.
The leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies are under pressure to take definitive action at this year’s summit, rather than simply producing a set of vague, unmeasurable goals.
The International Monetary Fund has warned about a “new mediocre” for the world’s economy, and the Group of 20 — which represents about 85 percent of the global economy — has vowed to focus on a plan to add $2 trillion to world GDP.
President Barack Obama touched down in Brisbane early Saturday to join the other leaders, with talks scheduled to begin in the afternoon.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has repeatedly stressed that the main focus of the gathering is to show progress on a previously announced plan of lifting the global GDP by 2 percent above predicted levels over the next five years.
