Why is G20 important for climate change?

At the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP27) in 2022, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a stern warning for climate change for action. He emphasised that humankind was speeding down a road that led to a climatic catastrophe with the accelerator pulled all the way down.

G20 2023

The G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi brought to light the critical nature of the situation surrounding the rise in temperature and the effects of climate change. The countries that make up the G20 have made a commitment to rapidly step up their efforts to combat environmental challenges, the most prominent of which being climate change.

The G20 nations have recognised that addressing climate change for action requires cooperation on a global scale in light of the fact that they are jointly responsible for around 80 percent of the world's emissions.

They admitted that current global goals and activities to address climate change are insufficient to fulfil the temperature objective that was established by the Paris Agreement. The objective is to keep the rise in the average temperature of the planet well below 2 degrees Celsius above its pre-industrial levels.

In addition, they reaffirmed their will to work towards the achievement of an even loftier objective, which is to hold the increase in global temperature to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average.

G20 declaration pressed that in order to meet this 1.5-degree target, an immediate, considerable and trackable actions should be taken with regard to the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) around the world. To be more specific, these cuts should reach 43 percent by the year 2030 in comparison to the levels in 2019.

Increasing Our Capacity to Achieve NDC Goals:

The New Delhi Leader's Declaration placed a strong emphasis on the necessity of aligning Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with the temperature objective established in the Paris Agreement.
Countries that have not yet done so were strongly encouraged to review and improve their 2030 NDC targets by the end of 2023, taking into account the specifics of their own national situations.

Tripling Renewable Energy:

The G20 nations have pledged to triple the world's renewable energy capacity by utilising the policies and goals that are already in place.
They also expressed their intention to display a similar degree of ambition in the development of zero and low-emission technologies.
It includes abatement and removal technologies, by the year 2030, customised to their respective national conditions.

One Day For Climate Action

Global Net Zero Emissions:

The G20 reaffirmed its commitment to reaching carbon neutrality or worldwide net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the middle of the century.
This commitment would take into account recent scientific breakthroughs and be compatible with a wide range of national situations. It would also embrace a variety of approaches, including the circular carbon economy, socioeconomic considerations, technological innovation, and market dynamics.

Financing the Climate Change for Action Response:

G20 recognised the need for major global investments to meet the climate objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Therefore, consultations were agreed upon to massively scale up climate finance, going from billions to trillions of dollars globally from all possible sources.
This shift would require approx. $6 billion dollars from developing nations in the period before to 2030 to execute their NDCs.

Commitments to Climate-Related Finance:

Members of the G20 reaffirmed the promise made by industrialised countries in 2010 to raise $100 billion in climate finance annually by the year 2020 and to continue doing so until the year 2025. With this finance, developing nations would get support, but only on the condition that they participate in real mitigation activities and transparent implementation.

Taking Care of the Loss and the Damage:

The governments that make up the G20 have made a commitment to put into action the finance arrangements that were discussed at COP27 in order to alleviate loss and damage, namely providing assistance to vulnerable developing countries who are dealing with the negative effects of climate change.
G20 asked for $100 billion by the year 2024 from COP to establish a transparent and accountable New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) of climate finance.
This target would be in line with the needs and priorities of developing nations, which would bring it into alignment with the goals of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

Hydrogen's Role in the Ecosystem:

The leaders of the G20 nations reaffirmed the 'G20 High Level Voluntary Principles on Hydrogen' .
It was done in order to establish a global hydrogen ecosystem that is equitable and sustainable to press for climate change for action.

Global Biofuels Alliance:

The United States of America, India, Brazil, Italy, Canada, Argentina, and South Africa are the founding members of the Global Biofuels Alliance, which was initiated during the G20 summit that took place in New Delhi and was led by the G20 Presidency.
The purpose of this new alliance is to bring countries together in order to expand and establish markets for sustainable biofuels. This is in recognition of the crucial role that these markets play in attaining net-zero emissions by the year 2050.