The recently held G20 Summit at New Delhi concluded with the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration which, apart from other issues of political significance, also clearly focused on the climate change issue. Climate Change is a burning topic of modern times which, if not given due consideration, can jeopardize the future of the whole world. Though the issue of climate change has held the centre stage at the past United Nations Framework Conferences on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the related Conference of Parties (COPs), the current Delhi Declaration holds special significance. This is primarily because of the fact that more than 80 percent of global GHG emissions, the G20 countries are collectively accountable. However, these countries nurture differences traditionally in regard to shouldering the burden of mitigation of global warming. Their rigid views on climate financing have come as a roadblock in the way of evolving plans for concerted climate action. It is heartening to note in this context that for the first time a consensus has been achieved through the Delhi Declaration which goes beyond the customary acknowledgement of the gravity of the problem.
The Delhi Declaration on Climate Change
"NEED TO ACCELERATE efforts to phase down unabated coal power, in line with national circumstances.
WILL WORK towards facilitating low-cost financing for developing countries to support their transition to low carbon.
WILL PURSUE and encourage efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally through existing targets and policies, in line with national circumstances by 2030.
REITERATE use of carbon pricing and non-pricing mechanisms and incentives toward carbon neutrality and net zero.
RECOGNISE need for increased global investments to meet our climate goals of the Paris agreement.
NOTE NEED of $ 5.8-5.9 trillion in pre-2030 period required for developing countries, in particular for their needs to implement their emission targets.
CALLS ON parties to set an ambitious, transparent, and trackable New Collective Quantified Goal of climate finance in 2024, from a floor of $100 billion a year."
The Salient Features of the Delhi Declaration on Climate Action
One of the major breakthroughs achieved in the Declaration was an agreement to triple the en bloc renewable energy capacity by 2030 of the G20 countries.This is a small, but significant step ahead concerning the contentious issue of "phasing out fossil fuels ". (Editorial, The Indian Express, 12.9.2023.) According to an assessment made by the International Energy Agency (IEA) earlier this year, this single measure could prove to be helpful in preventing 7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. The current global installed capacity of renewable energy is just short of 3,400 GW. In 2022, about 295 GW of new capacity was added. In order to triple the capacity by 2030, nearly 1,000 GW of new capacity would have to be added every year. As per IEA, "Tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 is an ambitious, yet achievable goal…….It is the single most important lever to bring about the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions needed by 2030."
Another critical component likely to make an impact on climate action is the "Green Development Pact for a Sustainable Future." It reaffirms the goals set under the Paris Agreement of 2015. At the same time, it calls for strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth, and the pursuit of development models that "Leave no one behind." This is the reflection of India's philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (One family, one earth).
The announcement of Global Biofuels Alliance based on the G20 High-Level Voluntary Principles on Hydrogen was in affirmation of building a sustainable and equitable global Hydrogen ecosystem. it recognized the importance of sustainable biofuels in zero-and low-emission development strategies. It further seeks transparent and resilient global markets for Hydrogen. It also calls for diversified and responsible supply chains for critical minerals and semiconductors.
The Declaration unanimously adopted the High-level Principles on Lifestyles for Sustainable Development with an objective to push for sustainable lifestyle to lower our resource footprints. It emits the signal to create circular economies at scale, from metals and minerals to plastics and packaging.
It underscored the importance of maximizing the effect of concessional resources, such as multilateral climate funds, to support developing countries' implementation of the Paris Agreement. It also called for an ambitious second replenishment process of the Green Climate Fund for the 2024-27 programming tenure. The Declaration finally endorses the necessity of adequate funds for the billions of people living in the Global South. In specific terms, $5.9 trillion is needed by developing countries to achieve their climate targets by 2030. Similarly, $4 trillion is required per year for clean energy. The new GDP pact recognizes the importance of leveraging the role of multilateral development banks, it calls for blended finance and risk-sharing facilities.
It has linked the triple planetary crises by focusing attention not only to the climate crisis but also reducing plastic pollution and preserving biodiversity. These include the G20 Global Land Initiative to reduce land degradation, the High-Level Principles for a Sustainable and Resilient Blue/Ocean-based Economy and sharing of best global practices on water.
One crucial component is building disaster-resilient infrastructure. In this regard, India introduced a Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group into the G20. It will now be incumbent on the member countries facing weather extremes to put in place robust early warning systems and include people as stakeholders in and enablers of resilient infrastructure.
The members also agreed to set an ambitious, transparent and trackable New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance in 2024, from a floor of $100 billion a year. It has taken into account the needs and priorities of developing countries in fulfilling the objectives of UNFCCC and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The Summit leaders expressed their commitment to the swift, full, and effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
In the Declaration, the global call given by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi found ample resonance in 2018 for the elimination of plastic pollution which said, "We are determined to end plastic pollution."
The G20 leaders committed themselves to enhancing environmentally sound waste management, substantially reducing waste generation by 2030, and highlighting the importance of zero-waste initiatives.
The member countries have committed to 'urgently accelerate' actions to address environmental crises and challenges, including climate change. In this regard, the inclusion of the principles of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) is critical.
Taking into account the IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, which states that the impacts of climate change will be much lower at a temperature increase of 1.5° C compared with 2° C, G20 resolved further to make required efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C.
The G20 countries announced to contribute to a successful conclusion of the first global stocktake at COP28 in Dubai.
The Shortcomings in the Delhi Declaration
In the G20 Summit, not all objectives were achieved. While it has been expressed in words to phase down unabated coal power, efforts to get an agreement on a phase-down of all fossil fuels could not get consensus.
The G20 meeting skirted most of the contentious issues such as greater emission cuts, phase-out of fossil fuels, massive mobilization of financial resources. Rather, it stuck to previously stated positions.
Even if the tripling target is achieved by 2030, it alone would not be sufficient for the 1.5 degree Celsius goal. As per the current projections, the greenhouse gas emissions would exceed the 1.5-degree Celsius compatible levels by about 24 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent. In contrast, renewable energy, if tripled, would be able to avoid only 7 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, or less than one third of what is required. This question has been left unanswered.
Conclusion
The recently concluded G20 Summit has successfully tackled several issues in regard to climate change in a broader sense. Though it was not exactly the matter of deliberation for this Summit as the UNFCCC and COP meetings are regularly dealing with these matters in detail. However, it was a Herculean task to bring different countries having divergent views on these matters on the table and evolve consensus on at least some issues. The Summit has set the ball rolling on many environmental issues and hopefully, it will usher an era of a secure and safe world. India, as the President of this G20 group, has succeeded in putting a stamp of its great vision and futuristic thinking over the world community.