Meeting in Goa, India, on Saturday 22 July, the energy ministers of the G20 countries failed to agree on a timetable for phasing out fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal).
A number of disagreements, notably concerning the planned tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030, did not result in a joint communiqué at the end of the meeting.
Only a summary from India, which chaired the G20, and a final declaration were published, referring to the disagreements over the future of fossil fuels.
While some members wanted to see a reduction in the use of fossil fuels without the need for carbon capture and storage, others said that these technologies would be useful for decarbonisation efforts.
The need to speed up the gradual reduction in coal-fired electricity generation was not mentioned in the declaration either.
On Friday 14 July, a coalition of 17 countries and the European Commission called for an urgent phasing-out of fossil fuels, with a peak in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 at the latest and a 43% reduction by 2030 compared with 2019.
Interest groups and organisations such as the E3G think tank deplored the outcome of the meeting and called on the Indian presidency to “strive for more solid results at the G20 leaders’ summit to be held in Delhi in September”. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)