G20: Summit ends with no deadlines for environmental objectives 4:05
(CNN) -
The Group of 20 leaders' summit ended Sunday with a climate agreement committing its member countries to end coal financing by the end of the year and aim to contain global warming by 1, 5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
But the final communiqué lacked firm promises and did not set a deadline for the actual use of coal.
He made no commitments to improve on issues like climate finance, paving the way for tough negotiations at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, which begins in earnest on Monday.
In the final statement, the world's 20 largest economies said they will "accelerate our actions" to achieve net zero emissions by or around mid-century.
Leaders officially recognized for the first time that their members' emission reduction plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), needed to be strengthened during this decade to move them towards net zero by 2050.
COP26 climate talks off to an ominous start after weak meeting of G20 leaders
They said they recognized that "G20 members can make a significant contribution to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions" and pledged "to take further steps this decade" to enhance "where necessary" their emission reduction promises. by the year 2030.
Current contributions from some countries do not include them on track to meet their net zero goals by midcentury, various analyzes have shown.
Scientists say the world must cut emissions in half during this decade to have any chance of reaching net zero by 2050 and containing global warming to around 1.5 degrees Celsius.
"We recognize that the impacts of climate change at 1.5 ° C are much less than at 2 ° C," the statement said.
"Keeping 1.5 ° C within reach will require significant and effective actions and the commitment of all countries, taking into account different approaches, through the development of clear national roads that align long-term ambition with short and medium goals. on time, and with cooperation and support, including finance and technology, sustainable and responsible consumption and production as critical enablers, in the context of sustainable development.
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The G20 agreement reaffirmed the commitment of rich nations to transfer $ 100 billion a year in climate finance to the Global South, an existing agreement that has not been honored.
A recent report from the COP26 presidency showed that the world would not reach this goal until 2023. It will also agree to mobilize money from financial institutions, especially development banks, to fill the gap and finance a global green recovery.
Mohamed Adow, director of the Power Shift Africa climate energy think tank, said the G20 message was "weak."
"This weak G20 statement is what happens when developing countries that are bearing the full force of the climate crisis are excluded from the room. The world's largest economies failed to put climate change on the top of the agenda sooner. from COP26 in Glasgow, "Adow said.
China, Russia and Australia among opponents of the coal phase-out
It also included a recognition for the first time of the "significant contribution" of methane emissions to climate change and the need for their reduction.
The United States and the EU are leading the Global Methane Pledge, to which more than 60 countries have joined, agreeing to reduce methane emissions by 30% during this decade.
"We recognize that methane emissions represent a significant contribution to climate change and we recognize, depending on national circumstances, that their reduction may be one of the fastest, most feasible and cost-effective ways to limit climate change and its impacts," the statement said. .
Methane emissions come primarily from leaking fossil fuel infrastructure, as well as livestock.
Australia has said that it will not sign the pledge.
Other major methane emitters, including Indonesia, have joined.
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Several major coal producers or consumers showed resistance to climate language in the communiqué of the G20 draft on decarbonisation, especially around the use of coal, Bas Eickhout, a member of the European Union parliament, close to the talks, told CNN.
Japan led a group of countries at the G7 meeting in June to soften the language around decarbonizing energy systems, and the country, along with China, India, Australia and Russia, wants to ensure that the language of the current statement The G20 does not include firm commitments, said Eickhout, who is a member of the EU Parliament delegation at the upcoming COP26 talks.
Eickhout said Japan was insisting that the statement says energy systems should be "overwhelmingly" decarbonized by the 2030s, rather than making it a clear compromise. That is backed by China and India, the world's largest coal consumers; Australia, the world's largest coal exporter by value; as well as Russia, another major exporter and consumer.
Russia was reluctant to put an end date on financing overseas coal projects, a pledge that Chinese President Xi Jinping made at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Eickhout said, but added that Russia was showing some margin of compromise.
At the G20 press conference in Rome, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there was "a fairly large group of nations that have similar concerns about this" when asked about specific language related to coal.
"Well, those issues have been resolved, through the Sherpas, and through the statement," he said.
"So we'll see what lands in the next few days."
The United States and China are the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters.
But who is worse?
Australia's resistance was particularly noted by Jennifer Morgan, CEO of Greenpeace International.
"If the G20 was a dress rehearsal for COP26, then world leaders blurred their lines," Morgan said in a statement.
"Their communiqué was weak, lacking in ambition and vision, and simply did not live up to the expectations of the moment. Now they are moving to Glasgow, where there is still a chance to seize a historic opportunity, but countries like Australia and Saudi Arabia must be sidelined, while rich countries must finally understand that the key to unlocking COP26 is trust. "
CNN has reached out to officials in China, Japan, Australia and Russia for comment.
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