The world is on the path of crossing the 1.5°C guardrail as early as 2026 (WMO, 2022). The twin challenges of stabilizing climate change in the long-term, and slowing the rate of warming in the near term have to be tackled urgently to reduce the risk of extreme climate events

AMN / NEW DELHI

EU, UK, Brazil and Indonesia have called for collective action by G20 nations to accelerate and scale climate action. They said that Developing countries should not do this alone but the support of  developed nations is needed to achieve those targets, especially financing for climate action, investment for energy transition, the establishment of an effective and equitable carbon market.

At the official G20 prelude to the World Sustainable Development Summit 2023, co-hosted by The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) and the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), key ambassadors from G20 countries addressed the challenges and opportunities for collective action to accelerate and scale climate action and deploy climate finance in this decisive decade.

During the discussion How collective effort drives development and keeps 1.5 degree C target within reach, distinguished speakers highlighted that the earth is warming at record speed and could careen past the 1.5°C safe temperature limit as early as 2026. To prevent the worst consequences, global decision-makers must address the twin challenges of 1) long term climate stabilization, and 2) urgently slowing the rate of near-term warming.

Keynote speaker, Ms. Richa Sharma, Additional Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and distinguished panelists shared how each country is transforming the world, bending the emissions curve, and building resilience to address this global challenge. Her Excellency, Ms. Richa Sharma said,

“India’s climate policy is informed by its vision of inclusive growth, for all around social and economic development, eradication of poverty, and further adherence to the foundational principles of the UNFCCC, rational utilisation of the fair share of the global carbon budget, and climate friendly lifestyles within the backdrop of deep-rooted cultural tradition of reverence for nature.”

Key developments:

Mr. Andre Aranha Corrêia Do Lago, Ambassador of Brazil:

“President Lula committed to very ambitious changes in the environmental dimension of our efforts, as well as in the decoupling of growth and emissions… What I think we have to do within the G20 is share the experiences and show that things are possible.”

Mr. Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner, delineated a number of policy instruments and keys to addressing climate cooperatively, including funding, procurement, trade, and regional cooperation. He also emphasized that conflict can compound the climate problem, and further stressed the importance of internationalism.

Ms. Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, emphasized the extreme vulnerability of some nations facing climate change and further underscored the role of regional and global cooperation to support the countries most impacted by the crisis.

“Developing countries should not do this alone, and we need the support of our developed partners to achieve those targets, especially 3 approaches: financing for climate action,

investment for energy transition, the establishment of an effective and equitable carbon market.”

Mr. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union:

“We all need to focus on action on mitigation in the coming months, because if the current action continues, we are not going to achieve the Paris targets… [T]he G20 can help to focus the minds further and inject new momentum in this mission to leave a world for the next generation that is fit for habiting… The challenge is global and the response must be collective”

Mr. Atul Bagai, Head of the United Nations Environment Programme India Office:

“The Montreal Protocol is the most successful international agreement… and it gives us a very good model and an example of how we can use that model for climate change. That model is a model of reaching consensus… and we need to look at that from a perspective of addressing climate change.”