Rome, Oct. 31 (BNA): Leaders of the world’s largest economies pledged Sunday to strive for carbon neutrality “by or within the middle of the century” as they wrapped up a two-day Rome summit and paved the way for the United Nations. Climate Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
According to the meeting’s closing statement, the G20 leaders also agreed to end public financing of coal power generation abroad, but did not set a target for phasing out coal domestically — an apparent reference to China, India and other coal-dependent countries, the AP reports.
G20 nations account for more than three-quarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, and summit host Italy and Britain, which hosts the Glasgow climate conference, have been looking for more ambitious goals out of Rome.
Without it, momentum could be lost for Glasgow, scientists said, this is the world’s “last best hope” to underscore commitments to keep temperatures below 1.5°C (2.7°F) above the pre-industrial average. Which scholars say is necessary.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told leaders going into Sunday’s final working session that they need to set long-term goals and make short-term changes to reach them.
Britain’s Prince Charles echoed his message, warning that it was “the last saloon car in every sense of the word”.
According to the statement, the G20 reaffirmed previous commitments by rich countries to mobilize $100 billion annually to help poor countries adapt to climate change, and committed to increasing funding to help them adapt.
The main sticking point has been the deadline for countries to reach carbon neutrality or “net zero” emissions, which means striking a balance between greenhouse gases added to and removed from the atmosphere. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wanted every G-20 member to commit to net zero by 2050.
However, upon entering the summit, Italy had admitted that it would only be able to secure commitments to reach net zero emissions “by mid-century”, rather than a specific year.
The closing statement sounded weaker, “acknowledging the key importance of achieving net greenhouse gas emissions or carbon neutrality by or around mid-century”.
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