That may not bode well for cooperation, especially on energy issues as climate change takes center stage just before the U.N. Health and finance officials sat down in Rome on Friday before presidents and prime ministers gather for the G-20 on Saturday and Sunday, but the leaders of major economic players China and Russia won’t be there in person. Analysts question how much progress they can make to ease the burden right away on people facing rising prices on everything from food and furniture to higher heating bills heading into winter. The summit will allow leaders representing 80% of the global economy to talk - and apply peer pressure - on all those issues. ROME (AP) - Leaders of the Group of 20 countries gathering for their first in-person summit since the pandemic took hold will confront a global recovery hampered by a series of stumbling blocks: an energy crunch spurring higher fuel and utility prices, new COVID-19 outbreaks, and logjams in the supply chains that keep the economy humming and goods headed to consumers.
