The BBC has laid out quite succinctly the difficulty facing the Global body of nations who have agreed to work together to combat the horrendous effects of the climate crisis. And the three events, taken together are a real blow to all of us.
At the Bonn, Germany climate talks going on this week, Saudi Arabia has moved to block mention of the findings of a key IPCC scientific report that urges drastic cuts in carbon emissions.
Last week, on June 21, the European Union failed to set a firm deadline on a long-term net-zero emissions target after four central and eastern European countries blocked the proposal.
And last, but not least, a draft text from the G20 Summit that opens in Osaka, Japan on Friday is so “watered-down” there may not even be a mention of the climate crisis.
An attendee at the Bonn meeting is quoted by the BBC as saying that taken together, “the moves represented a fierce backlash from countries with strong fossil fuel interests.” And this backlash is seen in the increasing amount of investment in fossil fuels and coal-fired power plants by the likes of China, Russia, Japan, and the United States, as well as some other countries.
Blocking the IPCC Report
Last December four large oil-producing countries, Saudi Arabia, the US, Kuwait, and Russia, refused to endorse the influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that shows what the world might look like under 1.5C of warming.
Saudi Arabia has already indicated it will move to block that report based on a “gentlemen’s agreement,” according to the Independent. The talks are intended to “[raise] ambition to curb greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate resilience-building efforts, and ensure that climate policy is built on a solid foundation of the best available science and knowledge” in the light of the Paris accord, according to the UN.
“If countries are not able to agree on welcoming the report’s findings or doing anything with them, it’s awkward,” Carl Schleussner, head of climate science at the NGO Climate Analytics told Climate Home News.
Saudi Arabia claims the IPCC report has issues with knowledge and scientific gaps as well as not giving developing countries more generous carbon allowances. The IPCC report took over two years to produce and made use of over 6,000 scientific studies.
“We know that there are some hardliners that would try to downplay the seriousness and the actions that are required, that is their point of view,” said Carlos Fuller from Belize, the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States.
“They recognize that they need to undertake major changes that they are not happy about.” The Saudi’s stance on the IPCC report is also seen by many environmentalists as a campaign to discredit the science.
Net-zero by 2050?
CNN News reported on June 21 that at a meeting of the bloc of 28 member states, they failed to set a firm deadline to end its contribution to climate change.
Instead of agreeing to a proposal to slash EU carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, the member states agreed to start looking at voting on “a transition to a climate-neutral EU.”
Actually, several of the EU member nations were a bit leery of the harshly worded and strict road map of how to reach net zero emissions and especially the 2050 deadline. Over 500 million people in the EU would have been affected by it.
But even the watered-down version of the proposal was too much for a number of the countries, all heavy fossil fuel users. Veto votes from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Estonia meant the proposed 2050 emissions target became a mere footnote, while a “large majority of member states” should achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
The draft text of the G20 meeting
A draft of the closing communiqué prepared by the Japanese government mentions climate change as just one issue among many and avoids phrases such as “global warming” and “decarbonization” in an apparent capitulation to the demands of the U.S.
“The story, based on a draft of the communiqué, shows Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a weak host and his G20 climate promises are full of hot air, undermining his previous claims that he seeks to save the planet,” said Kimiko Hirata, director of the Kiko Network Japan, a non-governmental organization, reports The BBC
According to The Guardian, Prime Minister Abe, in a statement in September 2018 said, “Climate change can be life-threatening to all generations … We must take more robust actions and reduce the use of fossil fuels.” Yet, the three biggest financial supporters of coal are China, India, and Japan, in that order.
