G20 nations backtracking on fossil fuel pledge, warn activists
Climate change campaigners have expressed concern over the apparent backtracking by G20 nations from their commitment to transition away from fossil fuels. This commitment was a key outcome of last year's United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai. The first draft of the G20 communique on climate had explicitly reaffirmed their commitment to "transition away from fossil fuels."
Saudi Arabia's stance and Brazil's priorities
However, since the COP28 summit, there have been indications that Saudi Arabia, which is a G20 member, has attempted to reinterpret this pledge as merely one option among many. Leaked documents reviewed by The Guardian revealed that the latest draft of paragraph 5 of the communique, where the commitment was initially mentioned, no longer includes a direct reference to "transition away." Instead, it contains an indirect reference through "the goals set forth" in the COP28 outcome.
Omission of fossil fuel pledge raises concerns
The latest version of the crucial paragraph, under discussion by the G20 ministerial climate taskforce, read, "We welcome and fully subscribe to the ambitious and balanced outcome of the UN climate change conference in Dubai (Cop28)." "...Particularly the first global stocktake (GST-1) of the Paris agreement, which builds on the intent of the G20 New Delhi leaders' declaration to pursue and encourage efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally and other zero- and low-emission technologies..by 2030."
Climate policy specialists express concern
Climate policy specialist Stela Herschmann expressed concern over this development, stating that countries need to tackle fossil fuels head-on and G20 should lead this discussion. "The resistance of countries to explicitly mention fossil fuels and the need to phase them out is evident, even after the GST-1 decision," she said. Shreeshan Venkatesh, a global policy lead at the Climate Action Network, also said it is very concerning that G20 countries are unwilling to come through on their responsibilities.
G20 leaders to meet in November
The leaders of the G20 countries are set to meet on November 18 and 19. The conference will coincide with the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11-22. The main agenda at Baku is a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate financing. In 2009, developed countries agreed to provide $100 billion a year for climate action to developing countries at the COP 15 in Copenhagen.
