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<\/p>\nNEW DELHI – Marking a major step forward in climate action, the G20 countries on Saturday promised to work towards tripling the global renewable energy capacity by 2030.<\/p>\n
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If met, this single step could avoid carbon dioxide emissions by seven billion tons between now and 2030, according to an assessment by the International Energy Agency (IEA).<\/p>\n
The G20 countries also committed themselves to making lifestyle changes to curb greenhouse gas emissions, agreeing on a cause being championed by India for the last few years.<\/p>\n
Some more contentious climate-related issues, like a commitment to phase-out all fossil fuels, on which there were major differences between the member countries, were left unaddressed. The G20 Leaders\u2019 Declaration from New Delhi acknowledged that scale of climate action, and its implementation, continued to \u201cremain insufficient\u201d, and recognized that the financial resources now needed to galvanize climate action in order to meet Paris Agreement objectives ran into \u201ctrillions of dollars\u201d, not billions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe commit to urgently accelerate our actions to address environmental crises and challenges including climate change,\u201d the G20 Leaders\u2019 Declaration said.<\/p>\n
The G20 declaration was seen as \u201cimportant progress\u201d by Sultan Al Jaber, president designate of the year-ending annual climate change conference to be held in Dubai this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe G20 has made important progress and I am specifically grateful for the commitment made today to triple renewables by 2030. These 20 countries account for 80 percent of global emissions, so this declaration sends a powerful signal for climate progress,\u201d Sultan Al Jaber said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI further welcome their alignment with the COP28 (Dubai climate change conference) agenda concerning loss & damage, adaptation finance, closing out the $100 billion pledge made over a decade ago. I call on all countries to meet the challenge head on by committing to transformative climate action. We must meet the financial commitments of yesterday, whilst creating new ones for tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tripling of global renewable energy capacity is a suggestion that has been made for the last few years, considering the already impressive growth in the sector. Paris-based International Energy Agency recently said that this was \u201cthe single most important lever to bring about the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions needed by 2030\u201d.<\/p>\n
With current policies to fight climate change, the global greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 is expected to be about 24 billion tons more than what is required to keep alive the hopes of limiting global warming to within 1.5 degree Celsius. Tripling of renewable energy capacity could play a significant role in bridging this gap.<\/p>\n
\u201cExpanding renewable capacity on this scale would avoid about 7 billion tons of CO2 emissions between 2023 and 2030,\u201d IEA said. As of now, about 3,400 GW of renewable energy capacity has been installed worldwide.<\/p>\n
Importance of G20 agreements<\/strong><\/p>\n Climate-related agreements at G20 are not internationally binding, certainly not for non-member countries. Climate decisions are taken at the annual UN climate change conference, which takes place towards the end of the year. But G20 countries have a lot of heft, and can influence decision-making at the climate conference. Besides, their own actions can create a momentum for other governments and the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a significant and surprising step forward by the G20. It can be a game changer,\u201d said Aditya Lolla, Asia Program Lead at the Lond-based climate think tank Ember.<\/p>\n \u201cIt creates two important precedents. First, it dramatically increases the odds that a global goal to triple renewables can be agreed at COP28 (annual climate change conference) in December. Second, and most importantly, it creates a necessity for countries to go back and reassess their own plans to make sure they are consistent with a tripling of global renewables,\u201d Lolla said.<\/p>\n In an indication that the developing countries within the G20 had managed to resist the pressure being put on them, the declaration acknowledged that not all countries needed to let their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) peak by 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also take note of the finding of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)\u2026 that global GHG emissions are projected to peak between 2020 and at the latest before 2025\u2026 This does not imply peaking in all countries within this timeframe; timeframes for peaking may be shaped by sustainable development, poverty eradication needs, equity, and in line with different national circumstances,\u201d the declaration said.<\/p>\n Developing countries have been insisting that developed countries must make deeper cuts in their emissions to allow room for others to continue their developmental efforts.<\/p>\n Interestingly, the G20 countries also agreed that it was important to allow \u201cuninterrupted flows of energy from various sources, suppliers and routes\u201d to support \u201csustainable development and climate goals\u201d. This is significant in the context of the USA and European sanctions on Russian oil and gas in the wake of the war in Ukraine. India has faced severe criticism for not adhering to these sanctions and continuing to buy oil from Russia.<\/p>\n The G20 countries said they will work towards facilitating access to low-cost financing for developing countries for deployment of clean and sustainable energy choices. They also urged the developed world to scale up financial resources for climate action, and supported the calls for a revamp of the international financial institutions to facilitate energy transitions.<\/p>\n The climate outcomes from the G20 Summit meeting in New Delhi evoked mixed responses. While Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) called it an \u201cimportant step forward\u201d, Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International, said much more could have been achieved.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the G20\u2019s commitment to renewable energy targets is commendable, it sidesteps the root cause \u2014 our global dependency on fossil fuels. Rich nations within this group of leading economies have not only failed to curb their own emissions but have also fallen short in financially aiding developing countries with their green initiatives. It is high time for these nations to lead by example, turn their promise into actions, and help forge a greener, more equitable future for all,\u201d Harjeet Singh said. (*)<\/p>\n