The G20 Finance Ministers have pledged to maintain the stimulus packages until the global economy is fully back on track and committed to work out an “ambitious outcome” at the UN climate change summit next month.

In a communique at the end of the two-day conclave at St Andrews in Scotland the G20 ministers said: “The recovery is uneven and remains dependent on policy support. High unemployment is a major concern. To restore the global economy and financial system to health, we agreed to maintain support for the recovery until it is assured.” The communique said they wanted an “ambitious outcome” at December’s UN climate change summit in Copenhagen, but there was no agreement on a climate finance figure.

“We committed to take action to tackle the threat of climate change and work towards an ambitious outcome in Copenhagen,” the communique said. However, no agreement was made on financing options, nor on how much individual countries would contribute.

Britain’s Chancellor of Exchequer Alistair Darling admitted that “while there are signs of improvement, we are not out of the woods yet. Although work is being done on the exit strategy, there is no one that believes the job is yet done.” US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said most of the “financial fire” had now been put out, and the global economy was forecast to grow by 3 per cent next year. He said, however, risks remained. “This is still a very tough economy. If we put the brakes on too quickly the costs will be greater,” he said. The International Monetary Fund said emergency stimulus measures needed to remain to avoid endangering a “nascent” financial recovery.

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