G20 to stop funding coal plants; mild pledge on climate change

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 31

Leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies were lukewarm towards more aggressively tackling climate change but were unanimous on sorting out vaccine-related issues, including speedier WHO approval process and more global production centres, of which India will be one of the hubs.

In a nod towards tackling climate change, the Rome Communique issued after the G20 Summit agreed to end public financing for coal-fired power plants abroad. It set no domestic phase-out targets, thus allowing major coal-dependent countries like India to carry on with other financing options.

“In a very strong message under the health section, it agreed that Covid immunity is a global public good and vaccines deemed to be safe should be mutually accepted,’’ said India’s G20 Sherpa Piyush Goyal. Recognising the spike in energy prices, the G20 agreed to facilitate a dialogue between producers and consumers to bring about stability in energy markets. The G20 also put its seal of approval on an extension of debt relief of $12.7 billion, which will help 50 countries. “In some sense, a lot of the agenda in which India took a leadership role on behalf of the developing countries has been brought into the text,’’ said Goyal.

The Indian Sherpa hinted at the cleavage between developed and developing countries that led to the Rome Declaration failing to mention the year by which “net zero” in emissions will be reached.

“There is no available technology to enable the grid to absorb large amounts of green energy and yet maintain grid stability. Therefore, we have to look at technology and innovation playing an important role before we identify a year,” he said. Goyal said developed countries should try to achieve “negative net zero” so that they should release some carbon space for developing countries to pursue their development agenda.

The G20 declaration merely said it would “pursue efforts to limit temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It also “reaffirmed” the commitment by developed countries to mobilise $100 billion annually till 2025. The declaration also supported a new IMF quota formula within two years. Before leaving Rome for Glasgow on Sunday, PM Narendra Modi met his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez Castejon to deepen ties in areas such as trade, energy and innovation. Late on Saturday, PM Modi met the French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indonesian President Joe Wikodo and Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong. The PM and US President Joe Biden had also exchanged pleasantries. “I took part in various sessions, participated in bilateral meetings and also met several leaders. It is important nations work together to further global good,” the PM said before departing for Glasgow.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also held several bilaterals in Rome, main being with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during which they discussed efforts to strengthen Indo-Pacific cooperation through Quad.

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