G20 leaders meeting in Rome on Sunday committed to the key goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and pledged action on phasing out the use of coal “as soon as possible.”
The final communique issued after the meeting did not include a fixed date for achieving “zero net emissions” which was being sought by the developed countries, but was staunchly opposed by India and the other developing countries. China and Russia were also opposed to the 2050 deadline that the western countries were pushing for to achieve zero net emissions.
The G20 leaders recognised "the key relevance of halting net emissions by or around the mid-century" which makes the deadline less specific.
The final G20 statement includes a pledge to halt financing of overseas coal-fired power generation by the end of this year, but set no date for phasing out coal power, promising only to do so "as soon as possible".
The G20 has set no date for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies either, saying they will aim to do so "over the medium term".
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This replaced a goal set in a previous draft of the final statement to achieve this by the end of the 2030s, to accommodate the view of coal-dependent countries like India who were seeking “climate justice.”
India’s stand has been that developing countries tend to pollute less per head of population and are not responsible for most emissions that have taken place in the past. It was the industrialised countries that were mainly responsible for the emissions which have led to the current crisis.
There were also tough negotiations over "climate financing" during the talks as the 2009 pledge by rich nations to provide $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries tackle climate change has not been met.
This has generated mistrust and a reluctance among some developing nations to take drastic steps to cut emissions as this could have disastrous consequences for their economies.
The G20 statement says: "We recall and reaffirm the commitment made by developed countries, to the goal of mobilizing jointly USD 100 billion per year by 2020 and annually through 2025 to address the needs of developing countries. The leaders stress the importance of meeting that goal fully as soon as possible."
The G20 summit has now set the stage for the wider COP26 climate change talks that will begin in Glasgow on Monday to where the world leaders are now headed.
