Expectations from leading economies for a push for stronger climate action remained futile as the G20 Environment and Climate Ministers’meeting in Chennai failed to reach an agreement on any language that signalled enhanced action.
The ministerial meeting, which concluded the work of the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group of G20, remained divided on the most crucial issues, including raising emission reduction targets and attaining the global peak of emissions by 2025.
While developed countries pressed for the enhancement of mitigation targets from everyone, the developing countries in the group emphasised on delivery of the unfulfilled promises related to finance and technology and urged the developed countries to do more. These familiar divides have prevented ambitious decision-making at climate change conferences as well.
Decisions taken at the G20 countries are no substitute for the agreements reached at the climate change conference, but because of the economic and political heft of the countries in the grouping, it can create momentum for change at the global level.
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Developing countries in the G20 group demanded that the developed world should advance their net-zero targets by ten years, and commit themselves to become carbon neutral by 2040, again a demand that was not agreeable to all.
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Tripling of global renewable energy capacity, phase-down plan for unabated use of fossil fuels, reduction of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions like methane were some of the other issues on which countries could not find a consensus. Developing countries like India also raised concerns over the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism being implemented in Europe from this year, arguing that it amounted to disguised trade barriers.
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