The G20, speaking out this Saturday as deeply divided on oil, decided not to call for an exit from fossil fuels but rather to support the tripling of renewables by 2030.
The G20’s commitment to renewable energy, reached at the New Delhi summit, was seen as a ‘ray of hope’ for some and a ‘minimum’ for others, as the decision comes three months before COP28, the 28th. Climate Change Conference, taking place from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai.
The future of fossil fuels, the main driver of the worsening climate crisis, is at the center of this year’s international negotiations that will culminate in December at COP28.
A phase-out of fossil fuels without capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) is also deemed “indispensable” in the first official report on the Paris Agreement, published by the United Nations (UN) on Friday. The G7 – Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom – have already agreed to accelerate fossil fuel exit this year, but without a clear timeline.
At the end of the G20 summit, a group of countries representing 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the final declaration calls for “accelerating efforts to reduce electricity consumption from coal”, excluding gas and oil , and reaffirms the commitment to “reducing and rationalizing, in the medium term, subsidies for inefficient use of fossil fuels”, as at other previous summits.
The G20, whose geopolitical disagreements are manifold, whether over Ukraine or over the rivalry between the United States and China, is also at odds over the future of oil, with major producers like Saudi Arabia being very cautious on the issue .
The G20 brings together the 19 most developed and emerging economies and the European Union. The African Union has been part of the group since today and the name change to G21 has not yet been mentioned.
“Leaders agreed to the bare minimum, repeating G20 Bali’s 2022 pledge to phase out coal,” said Lisa Fischer, climate change expert at E3G.
However, G20 leaders in New Delhi acknowledge that limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the most ambitious target of the Paris Agreement, “would require a rapid, strong and sustainable 43% reduction in emissions required by 2030 compared to 2019,” according to the recommendations of the IPCC (United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), which points to a peak in emissions in 2025.
Although 2023 is on track to be the hottest year on record, “this G20 should point the way to a future without fossil fuels,” said Friederike Roder, vice president of the NGO Global Citizen, denouncing “a very bad sign for the world. “.
The reduction of fossil fuels is one of the ambitions of the COP28 president: Sultan Al Jaber himself, at the same time head of the UAE’s national oil company – ADNOC, considered their sharp reduction as ‘inevitable and essential’, once clean energy was built. system of the future.
On this issue, the G20 stated for the first time that it will “continue and encourage efforts to triple renewable energy capacity” by 2030, a target on which consensus should be reached at COP28.
“This is an important and surprising step by the G20,” said Aditya Lolla of the Ember Group, who welcomed “a major turnaround from Saudi Arabia and Russia.”
Source: DN
