The energy ministers of the G20 countries, meeting in India on Saturday, failed to agree on a timetable for gradually reducing the use of fossil fuels. Their final statement does not even mention coal, yet one of the big contributors to global warming.
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This failure of the G20 Energy Ministers to agree comes despite the willingness displayed in May in Hiroshima by the G7 leaders to ” accelerate ” their ” exit » Fossil fuels. And this as global temperatures reach record highs, causing heat wavesfloods and fires.
To explain this impasse, India, which chairs the G20, explained that some of the members wanted a reduction in fossil fuels ” not backed by carbon capture or storage devices », « conform to different national circumstances “. While from ” others have a different opinion on whether carbon capture and storage technologies meet these needs “.
“ With record high temperatures hitting the world every day and the impact of climate change spiraling out of control, the world needed G20 energy ministers to rally “, regretted Alden Meyer, analyst of the center of reflection E3G, in a press release.
“ Humanity can’t afford to wait »
A coalition of eighteen countries, including France and Germany, led by the Marshall Islands, called last Friday ” an urgent exit from fossil fuels ” And ” a peak in greenhouse gases by 2025 “, believing that” humanity cannot afford to wait “.
This coalition calls for a 43% reduction in global emissions by 2030 compared to 2019, in order to respect the 1.5°C limit, in accordance with the calculations of United Nations climate experts. But many developing countries believe that the rich countries, the biggest polluters, must finance the energy transition more.
India in particular has set a goal of net zero emissions for 2070, 20 years later than many other countries. A report preparing India’s presidency of the G20 calculated the cost of the energy transition at $4 trillion per year and underlined the importance of low-cost financing for technology transfers and developing countries, a recurring request from New Delhi.
Reluctance to a rapid exit from fossil fuels
Some big oil producers are also reluctant to exit fossil fuels quickly. Ed King, of the climate communication network GSCC, blamed Russia and Saudi Arabia in particular for the lack of progress in the negotiations on Saturday. These countries have blocked efforts for a clean energy tripling deal aimed at cutting fossil fuels “, he lamented on Twitter.
The CEO of UAE oil company Adnoc, Sultan Al Jaber, who will chair the COP28 negotiations, said he expects fossil fuels to continue to play a role, however small, with the controversial help of carbon capture or storage devices. He felt, however, that their reduction was “ inevitable ” And ” essential », but that realism forbade doing without it overnight.
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(With AFP)