On Tuesday, November 15 and Wednesday, November 16, the heads of state and government of the G20 countries gathered in Bali for the summit led by the Indonesian presidency. The following is the reaction and a commentary on the Official Communiqué from ECCO, the Italian climate think tank.
Luca Bergamaschi, Co-founder & Executive Director, International Policy at ECCO said:
“We are in a difficult moment. Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, climate impacts are increasingly evident, food insecurity is increasing, and economic instability affects all countries around the world. In this context, the G20 countries recognize their responsibility to first and foremost seek peace and cooperation.
On climate change, the G20 Leaders give a clear mandate to make progress at COP27 on all issues, including loss and damage, and to accelerate on clean energy. It is clear that there is no more room for new fossil fuels in the global economy.”
G20 countries reaffirm the outcomes of the 2021 Rome G20 and COP26 with a resolve to “urgently increase ambition on mitigation and adaptation” as well as finance and loss and damage.
G20 leaders reiterated the need to review existing national commitments to align them with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Currently all climate plans see us on the path to 2.4°C by 2100. The review of the NIPEC in 2023 will be central for Italy in this regard.
Reaffirmed commitment to the 1.5°C limit, recognizing that the smaller the impact of climate change effects will be if average temperature rise is contained within that limit. G20 leaders “agreed to continue efforts to do so.” Positive that all countries, including China, recognize this goal without more ambiguity.
On energy, G20 leaders recognize that the road is marked for renewable energy and energy efficiency. The insecurity and volatility of fossil fuels, gas first and foremost, is causing a major impact on households and businesses, so the solution is to accelerate the transition to clean and secure energy.
On international finance, the G20 countries are calling on the Multilateral Development Banks to step up – in the wake of the Bridgetown Initiative presented at COP27 by Barbados and supported by France – saying that the G20’s independent review of their lending practices should provide an update in spring 2023.
Leaders expressed concern about the debt situation of vulnerable middle-income countries, calling on all creditors to intervene with fair and rapid debt restructuring plans. These issues will also become central to the Italian G7 presidency in 2024.
G20 leaders also said it is critical to improve the credibility of financial institutions’ commitments to zero net emissions, echoing the report of the UN High-Level Panel of Experts released at COP27, which set guidelines for corporate commitments.
G20 leaders endorsed the G20 Sustainable Finance Report 2022, which includes recommendations for jurisdictions developing transition finance regulations. To achieve our climate goals, we need to focus on regulation and get these entities to step up to actually reduce emissions.
Finally, Russia appears increasingly isolated. G20 leaders have stated that “today’s era must not be one of war.”
MEDIA NOTES
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ECCO is Italy’s independent climate think tank. ECCO’s mission is to work in the public interest to accelerate decarbonization and build the resilience of economies with a national, European and global reach. ECCO works innovatively and collaboratively to develop fact- and science-based analyses and transformative climate strategies. ECCO is a nonprofit organization, unrelated to any private interest and funded exclusively through philanthropic and public resources.
