Leaders of the world’s biggest economies made a compromise commitment Sunday to reach carbon neutrality “by or around mid-century” as they wrapped up a two-day summit that was laying the groundwork for the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Associated Press is reporting the Group of 20 leaders also agreed to end public financing for coal-fired power generation abroad but set no target for phasing out coal domestically, an obvious nod to China and India.
The draft final communique was circulated as the G20 summit ended Sunday morning in preparation for the start of the COP26 conference. Sources close to the negotiations said the G20 had agreed to a commitment to restrict global warming to an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.
The group of 20 countries represents more than three-quarters of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Both the G20 host Italy and Glasgow-host Britain had been looking for more ambitious targets coming out of Rome because without a strong commitment, the Glasgow meeting will end up a failure.
Italian Premier Mario Draghi told the leaders this morning, going into the final session they needed to set long-term goals and make short-term changes to reach them.
“We must accelerate the phasing-out of coal and invest more in renewable energy,” he said. “We also need to make sure that we use available resources wisely, which means that we should become able to adapt our technologies and also our lifestyles to this new world.”
Euro News is also reporting that a French official also said the leaders had reached an agreement on the long-standing but yet-to-be-fulfilled commitment of providing $100 billion annually to help poorer countries cope with the effects of climate change,
The UK’s Prince Charles, a long-time environmentalist, addressed the G20 on Sunday morning, saying it was the moment to begin a green-led economic turnaround, reports The Guardian.
“Ladies and gentlemen, COP26 begins in Glasgow tomorrow,” Charles said. “Quite literally, it is the last chance saloon. We must now translate fine words into still finer actions.
“And as the enormity of the climate challenge dominates people’s conversations, from newsrooms to living rooms, and as the future of humanity and nature herself are at stake, it is surely time to set aside our differences and grasp this unique opportunity to launch a substantial green recovery by putting the global economy on a confident, sustainable trajectory and, thus, save our planet.
“And, from what they tell me, the private sector is already there, eager to work with you and ready to play a hugely significant and game-changing role. This is why I am so grateful to have this chance to talk to you here today, and to shine a light not just on how far we’ve come, but also on how far we still need to go.”
