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World leaders urged countries not to lose sight of climate targets in the coronavirus pandemic, backing the targets of the Paris agreement amid hopes that US President-elect Joe Biden will rejoin the deal.
Participants in the second day of a virtual summit of the Group of 20 rich nations discussed climate change in a session organized by Saudi Arabia, the forum’s chairman. The United States formally exited the Paris accord, which promises limits on fossil fuel pollution, earlier this month.
“G-20 members should strengthen the fight against climate change and continue to play a leadership role to achieve the full and effective implementation of the Paris agreement,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi, who has pledged to make his country carbon neutral by 2060, said China “applauds” the so-called circular carbon economy, or CCE, put forward by Saudi Arabia, a controversial plan that seeks to reduce emissions while capturing and reuse the greenhouse effect. gases produced by the combustion of hydrocarbons.
US President Donald Trump used his speech at the session to again criticize the Paris agreement, justifying his decision to walk away from the agreement “to protect American workers.”
“The Paris agreement was not designed to save the environment, it was designed to kill the American economy,” Trump said. “I refused to give up millions of American jobs and send billions of dollars to the worst polluters and environmental offenders in the world, and that’s what would have happened.”
Other leaders spoke in favor of the pact and, more generally, the need to maintain momentum on climate targets even as economies around the world are devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the focus was naturally on saving people and economies from the effects of the coronavirus. “Equally important is maintaining our focus on fighting climate change. Climate change must be fought not in silos, but in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way ”.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country supported “practical ways to reduce emissions.” He added: “Australia remains firmly committed to the Paris agreement and the commitments we have made.”
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, whose country assumes the presidency of the G-20 for 2021, said that the climate will be a topic of maximum attention for the group next year and that Saudi Arabia’s proposal on the CCE “will have its role. to play “in the transition to a future carbon neutral.
But Conte also reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to the Paris agreement. “However, there is no escape from the urgent need to reduce emissions. This must be the centerpiece of all efforts to combat climate change, ”Conte said.
G-20 leaders have now agreed in their final statement to “endorse” CCE, “while recognizing the key importance and ambition of reducing emissions,” according to European officials who asked not to be named to discuss confidential talks. European Union governments had previously resisted using that word, pressing instead to recognize the contribution of carbon sequestration to climate action while making it clear that it was not enough.
CCE’s approach has raised some skepticism. Making a production cycle totally self-sufficient is virtually impossible: some new input will always be necessary and some waste will always be created. Building a circular economy can also require high upfront costs.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa backed the Paris agreement and called for efforts to mitigate climate change to be accompanied by support for the countries affected by it.
“We must stand firm in our determination to protect our societies and the planet from environmental degradation,” said Ramaphosa, who holds the rotating presidency of the 55-nation African Union.
