G20, climate agreement: ceiling at 1.5 degrees (but not all went well)

The G20 of Rome came to a conclusion with a final climate agreement. A draft on which the sherpas of the heads of state and government have worked tirelessly and which at the end of the work fixes some points. The first is the cap for global warming at 1.5 degrees and the second is the goal zero emissions by 2050. But this is where the G20 stumbles.

“We win or fail together. As G20 we have a responsibility to show our leadership and lead the world towards a more sustainable future ”, commented Prime Minister Mario Draghi. But there are no aligned answers from Russia, China, India and Saudi Arabia. “2050 is not a magic number, if this is the ambition of the EU, other countries have other ambitions”, said Russian Foreign Minister Serghiei Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20, on the 2050 goal for carbon neutrality. “Russia will try to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 ».

Also there Cina di di Xi Jinping (which like Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin connected remotely without attending the summit) sets the goal of carbon neutrality for 2060. But the planet cannot wait. However, Europe produces only 7/8% of emissions: China is responsible for over a quarter (27.9%) of all CO2 emissions on the planet. It produces as many as Japan, Russia, India and the United States combined. In the absence of a definitive agreement, in the final document it could appear as “mid-century” time objective, with no numbers to set a true date.

«We are committed to significantly reducing our collective greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account national circumstances and respecting our NDC (the commitments made by each country) “, reads the final G20 communiqué, in which the G20 countries commit themselves to terminate financing for new coal plants by the end of the year. “We recognize that methane emissions make a significant contribution to climate change and we recognize, based on national circumstances, that its reduction may be one of the fastest, most feasible and economical ways to limit it.” And “We will increase our efforts to phase out and rationalize subsidies to inefficient fossil fuels in the medium term”.

This is also foreseen in the draft agreement the 100 billion climate fund to support developing countries in tackling the green transition. Now from Rome the ball goes to Cop26 in Glasgow, the United Nations Conference on the climate that is inaugurating today.

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