Brussels, 17/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - The least that can be said is that the final statement of the G20 summit in Antalya was a disappointment to the NGOs active the fight against climate change (see EUROPE 11431).
The reason was that the statement contained no new commitment on climate financing, or any hint of a commitment to phase out subsidies to fossil fuels, or any word on establishing a long-term goal for decarbonising the economy.
Thus, in the view of the Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, the G20 “failed to show leadership”, even though the G20 economies produce 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions and the Antalya meeting was one of the last opportunities before COP 21 (30 November-11 December) to create momentum for an ambitious result in Paris.
“The G20 leaders failed to grapple their chance to show to the world community that they can be united to deal with the challenges we are confronted with”, said CAN Europe director Wendel Trio. The governments of the planet's most powerful economies had, of course, to respond to the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November but they also had to give a crucial political signal for the Paris climate summit that will start in two weeks' time, the NGO states.
The promise made by the industrialised nations to provide US$100 billion per year until 2020 to support adaptation and mitigation efforts by developing countries dates back to 2009. It was in 2009, too, that the G20 countries promised to end “inefficient” subsidies to fossil fuels. Yet they continue to spend US$452 billion annually on fossil fuel subsidies, resulting in a continued lock-in of fossil fuels rather than a transition towards renewables, CAN Europe says, accusing the G20 of “empty promises”. If the long-term goal of preventing an average rise in global temperature of more than 2 degree Celsius is to be realised, global emissions from fossil fuels have to be phased out and 100% renewables phased in by 2050, the NGO states. Arguing for this long-term goal to be included in the Paris agreement (also to give businesses more investment certainty), CAN Europe regrets that the G20 had avoided doing so, even though the G7, meeting in Elmau in Germany in June, had agreed on a target of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 40-60% by 2050 (see EUROPE 11330). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)