After months of wrangling over language on Ukraine, G-20 negotiators are now worried about reaching a consensus over climate change issues ahead of the leaders’ summit in September. The concerns have grown after two G-20 Ministerial meetings on energy transitions, environment and climate at the end of July ended without joint language on a number of key issues, including emissions targets, cutting down on fossil fuels, and climate finance, and the differences carried into virtual Sherpa negotiations for a “zero-draft” or first draft of the Leaders’ Declaration last week, said a number of sources. The first meeting was the G-20 Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) in Goa followed by the G-20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) held in Chennai last month.
As a result, the language of the Chairman’s Summary and Outcome documents recorded a number of “non-agreed paragraphs” amongst G-20 members. While the Russia-China combine still held out against the G7 countries over the paragraphs pertaining to Ukraine, with China maintaining that no “geopolitical” issues should be included, the focus is now shifting to the divide between the G7 or developed world and the developing world on issues pertaining to climate goals and climate finance, and particularly the references to “phasing out” fossil fuels, that many countries including India and Saudi Arabia opposed fiercely, retaining the term “phasing down” instead.
