Independent economists’ climate and finance report toned down after feedback from G20 countries, despite UN mandate for countries to cut emissions
Just as UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on the G20 to “take the lead” on climate change, Climate Home calls for a group of major powers to discuss how the financial system must change to enable climate action. It can be revealed that the report by top economists on the topic of energy has been watered down.
Secretary-General Guterres made video comments at the launch of the United Nations’ emissions gap report, which showed that under current policies, G20 countries as a group will not be able to meet their 2030 goal of reducing global warming emissions. .
Separately, the Climate Action Tracker found that no G20 country policy is compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or “well below” 2 degrees Celsius, the goal of the Paris Agreement.
Guterres said on Thursday that “the big economies, the G20 members responsible for about 80% of all emissions, have to take the lead.”
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He was speaking as G20 climate and Treasury officials and central bank officials gathered in Washington, D.C., for a meeting of the G20 Task Force on Global Mobilization on Climate Change (TF-CLIMA). did. TF-CLIMA is an initiative of Brazil’s G20 Presidency aimed at addressing climate change and climate change. Finance officials break out of silos and discuss tackling climate change.
One of their mandates is to develop 12 independent experts, led by economists Vera Songwe and Mariana Mazzucato, on how G20 countries can shift their financial systems to tackle climate change. This is in response to a report commissioned by the task force from a group of families.
Brazil’s Climate, Energy and Environment Minister Andre Aranja Correa do Lago told a press conference on Wednesday that experts should produce a “strong report” that goes beyond what the G20 can agree on in a joint declaration. He said it was required. “It was important for us to leave behind a legacy of documentation that shows we believe we need more,” he said.
The report, released on Thursday, makes several key findings about climate change, including that climate action will slow economic growth and that governments lack the resources to solve climate change and should be left to markets. It lists five “myths” that hinder countermeasures. The report recommends that G20 governments implement green industrial strategies, reform the global financial system and increase financing for climate change projects.
weakened by criticism
However, the final published version was watered down in response to critical feedback from G20 governments through negotiators, according to a September 4 draft of the report seen by Climate Home.
Comparing earlier and later versions, from criticism of the G20 to warnings about climate impacts, to praise for billionaires against climate change, to calls for support for central banks in the fight against climate change. , weakened in many ways.
References to “G20 inaction” were replaced with “G20 inertia” and the line “Each year is more devastating to the planet than the last” was removed. References to a “rapid rise” in global temperatures were tempered with “temperature increases of this magnitude.”
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Information supporting Brazil’s proposal to impose a 2% tax on the wealth of billionaires around the world was also removed, including a statement that the proposal was popular with “voters around the world.” The opinion that implementing the proposal would be “relatively easy” was replaced by “doubts about the feasibility of implementation.”
A draft draft from September indicated that France, Spain and South Africa supported the proposed wealth tax, while the United States opposed it, but this was removed from the final version. The United States has not publicly clarified its position regarding this tax.
Additionally, the recommendation that central banks and supervisory and regulatory bodies should reduce climate-related financial risks and support the mobilization of private finance for green investments has been amended with the caveat “within the scope of their mandate.” Ta.
Sources familiar with the discussions told Climate Home that the central bank recommendations have been criticized by the United States, the European Union, France and some developing countries.
Just a transition?
On the same day, the UN’s Emissions Gap Report announced that unless all countries jointly commit to reducing next year’s greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030 and 57% by 2035, 1.5 He warned that the ℃ target would not be met within a few years. A climate change plan is in place by next year and we will back it up with swift action.
According to the report, global greenhouse gas emissions will reach 57.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023, an increase of 1.3% from 2022 levels and the highest on record, due to increases in sectors from electricity to transportation and agriculture. Recorded. Guterres said emissions need to fall by 9% each year until 2030 to meet the 1.5C limit and “avoid the worst of climate change.”
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The report said all G20 governments must step up efforts and “do the heavy lifting” to significantly reduce emissions across the group, which accounts for 77% of total global emissions.
However, he argued that stronger international support and more climate finance are essential to ensure that climate and development goals can be achieved equitably across G20 countries and the world at large.
The G20 includes several developing countries such as India, Indonesia, and Brazil, which today have relatively low per capita emissions despite large increases in emissions. , have historically contributed much less to global warming than rich developed countries.
In response to questions from Climate Home, United Nations Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen told reporters that while the Emissions Gap Report acknowledges that some countries are better able to get ahead of the curve, He said cuts were needed by all G20 countries.
“All G20 countries, regardless of where they are on their long historical trajectory, have the opportunity to capitalize on this investment opportunity and transform their emissions structure,” she said. Nevertheless, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the wealthy to stretch and work harder to make room for those who will have difficulty achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. , she added.
Ann Olhoff, the report’s chief scientific editor, noted that all G20 countries except Mexico have committed to achieving net-zero emissions in the second half of this century. He said countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Turkiye, which have not yet reached their peak emissions, should reach their peak emissions as soon as possible and then move quickly to meet their net emissions. He said that cuts should begin. Target is zero.
(Reporting by Jho Low; Additional reporting by Megan Rowling; Editing by Megan Rowling)
