Members agree to triple green energy capacity by 2030, cut CO2 emissions

Some more contentious climate-related issues, like a commitment to phase-out all fossil fuels, on which there were major differences between the member countries, were left unaddressed. The G20 Leaders’ Declaration from New Delhi acknowledged that scale of climate action, and its implementation, continued to “remain insufficient”, and recognised that the financial resources now needed to galvanise climate action in order to meet Paris Agreement objectives ran into “trillions of dollars”, not billions.

“We commit to urgently accelerate our actions to address environmental crises and challenges including climate change,” the G20 Leaders’ Declaration said.

The G20 declaration was seen as “important progress” by Sultan Al Jaber, president designate of the year-ending annual climate change conference to be held in Dubai this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes US President Joe Biden at the Bharat Mandapam on Saturday.

“The G20 has made important progress and I am specifically grateful for the commitment made today to triple renewables by 2030. These 20 countries account for 80 percent of global emissions, so this declaration sends a powerful signal for climate progress,” Sultan Al Jaber said.

“I further welcome their alignment with the COP28 (Dubai climate change conference) agenda concerning loss & damage, adaptation finance, closing out the $100 billion pledge made over a decade ago. I call on all countries to meet the challenge head on by committing to transformative climate action. We must meet the financial commitments of yesterday, whilst creating new ones for tomorrow,” he said.

Tripling of global renewable energy capacity is a suggestion that has been made for the last few years, considering the already impressive growth in the sector. Paris-based International Energy Agency recently said that this was “the single most important lever to bring about the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions needed by 2030”.

With current policies to fight climate change, the global greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 is expected to be about 24 billion tonnes more than what is required to keep alive the hopes of limiting global warming to within 1.5 degree Celsius. Tripling of renewable energy capacity could play a significant role in bridging this gap.

“Expanding renewable capacity on this scale would avoid about 7 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions between 2023 and 2030,” IEA said. As of now, about 3,400 GW of renewable energy capacity has been installed worldwide.

“This is a significant and surprising step forward by the G20. It can be a game changer,” said Aditya Lolla, Asia Programme Lead at the Lond-based climate think tank Ember.

“It creates two important precedents. First, it dramatically increases the odds that a global goal to triple renewables can be agreed at COP28 (annual climate change conference) in December. Second, and most importantly, it creates a necessity for countries to go back and reassess their own plans to make sure they are consistent with a tripling of global renewables,” Lolla said.

In an indication that the developing countries within the G20 had managed to resist the pressure being put on them, the declaration acknowledged that not all countries needed to let their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) peak by 2025.

“We also take note of the finding of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)… that global GHG emissions are projected to peak between 2020 and at the latest before 2025… This does not imply peaking in all countries within this timeframe; timeframes for peaking may be shaped by sustainable development, poverty eradication needs, equity, and in line with different national circumstances,” the declaration said.

Developing countries have been insisting that developed countries must make deeper cuts in their emissions to allow room for others to continue their developmental efforts.

Interestingly, the G20 countries also agreed that it was important to allow “uninterrupted flows of energy from various sources, suppliers and routes” to support “sustainable development and climate goals”. This is significant in the context of the US and European sanctions on Russian oil and gas in the wake of the war in Ukraine. India has faced severe criticism for not adhering to these sanctions and continuing to buy oil from Russia.

The G20 countries said they will work towards facilitating access to low-cost financing for developing countries for deployment of clean and sustainable energy choices. They also urged the developed world to scale up financial resources for climate action, and supported the calls for a revamp of the international financial institutions to facilitate energy transitions.

The climate outcomes from the G20 Summit meeting in New Delhi evoked mixed responses. While Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) called it an “important step forward”, Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International, said much more could have been achieved.

“While the G20’s commitment to renewable energy targets is commendable, it sidesteps the root cause — our global dependency on fossil fuels. Rich nations within this group of leading economies have not only failed to curb their own emissions but have also fallen short in financially aiding developing countries with their green initiatives. It is high time for these nations to lead by example, turn their promise into actions, and help forge a greener, more equitable future for all,” Harjeet Singh said.