Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, took part in the meeting of G20 environment and climate ministers in Chennai, India, on Friday 28 July.
At the end of this event, to which the Sultan Al-Jaber, the controversial future president of COP28, was also invited, the world’s major economies were unable to agree on capping global greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, as French minister Christophe Béchu reported to AFP.
In addition, negotiations on a significant increase in the use of renewable energies, as well as discussions on the key issues at COP28, ended in a deadlock.
The G20 members did, however, renew their international commitments, focusing on climate change, biodiversity at risk, access to water, land degradation and restoration, and the promotion of a sustainable and resilient blue economy.
Commissioner Sinkevičius reaffirmed the European Union’s commitment to becoming a climate-neutral, circular and nature-friendly economy, in line with the European Green Deal.
And as the Commission published two new guidelines to encourage and reward sustainable forestry practices (see other news), Mr Sinkevičius stressed the importance of urgent global action to reverse the alarming trends in climate change and biodiversity loss, recently highlighted “by forest fires, devastating droughts and other extreme weather events in Europe and around the world”.
Alongside the meeting, the European Commissioner attended the launch of the industrial coalition for resource efficiency and the circular economy, proposed by India.
The G20 ministerial meeting on the environment and sustainable climate in Chennai is now preparing for the leaders’ summit, taking place in New Delhi on 9 and 10 September. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)