(Rome) Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says the absence of Chinese and Russian leaders from the G20 summit in Italy this weekend is not ideal, but she refuses to comment on the consequences this could have. have on the difficult climate negotiations.
Mme Freeland said the G20 is most effective when all leaders are present, but blamed their absences on their reluctance to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The effect on negotiations to reach crucial consensus on stronger action to slow global warming could be significant, however.
Besides Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the leaders of Mexico, Brazil and Japan were also absent, meaning a quarter of the group sent ministers instead of key decision makers.
China’s prominence in the G20 negotiations to end coal-fired power generation makes Xi’s absence potentially the most troublesome.
The hope for this weekend is that G20 leaders agree to stronger terms on the need to quickly cut greenhouse gas emissions, including phasing out investment in new coal-fired power plants, both in countries and abroad.