G20 leaders pledged on Sunday to achieve carbon neutrality “by mid-century,” after a two-day summit paving the way for the United Nations climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow.
According to the final communiqué, the leaders of the Group of 20 also agreed to end public funding for overseas coal-fired power generation, but did not set any targets for the phase-out of coal nationally. – an obvious concession to countries dependent on coal, including China and India, and a blow to Great Britain, which had hoped for more solid commitments before COP26.
The G20 represents more than three quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the statement, the G20 reaffirmed the past commitments of rich countries to mobilize $ 100 billion per year to help the poorest countries adapt to the climate crisis, and pledged to increase this funding.
The outstanding issue remained the deadline for achieving carbon neutrality. Prior to the summit, Italy had all but conceded that it would only be able to commit to reaching net zero emissions “by mid-century”, rather than a specific year.
A French official said that “the middle of the century” means 2050 in the strict sense, “but given the diversity of the G20 countries […] this means that everyone agrees on a common goal while offering a little flexibility to take into account national diversity ”. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he cited the example of big air polluters like China, India and Indonesia.
Some countries have set the deadline for 2050, while China, Russia and Saudi Arabia are aiming for 2060.
A recent United Nations report concluded that announcements from dozens of countries targeting carbon neutrality could, if fully implemented, limit a global temperature rise to 2.2 degrees Celsius, which is still above the goal agreed in the Paris agreement to keep the temperature increase well below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.
The future of coal, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, has also been one of the things the G20 has struggled to agree on.
At the summit, leaders agreed to end funding for new overseas coal plants by the end of 2021, which Western countries had already started. Asian economic powers are now doing the same: Chinese President Xi Jinping told the UN general assembly last month that Beijing would stop funding such projects, a pledge already made by Japan and South Korea.
Uncertainty before COP26
On the eve of the COP26 meeting, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, warned that “there is a serious risk that Glasgow will achieve nothing”, given the still lukewarm commitments of the big polluters, and challenged G20 leaders to overcome “dangerous levels of mistrust” between themselves and with developing nations.
In Glasgow, US President Joe Biden is expected to voice concerns over demand exceeding supply in global oil markets, according to a senior administration official, who informed reporters on condition of anonymity.
The summit could be an opportunity for dialogue, as it will include delegations from major energy producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, major consumers, including Europe and China, and the United States, which is both of them.
With Jill Lawless and Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press