G20 summit addresses key climate issues
G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia brings climate change mitigation and green finance into focus
World leaders at the G20 Summit in Brisbane have committed to reinforcing a stronger and more effective strategy on climate change and new measures will promote energy and fuel efficiency and the phasing out the “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” by financing the Green Climate Fund and concluding a new international climate change deal in Paris next year.
According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), eliminating fossil fuel subsidies by 2020 would reduce the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10 per cent by 2050.
Leaders pledged to deliver “strong and resilient energy markets” and “improve the functioning of gas markets” which is increasingly essential as the global economy moves toward lower carbon energy sources.
Proposals of a new action plan for Voluntary Collaboration on Energy Efficiency is revealed, which will introduce "new work on the efficiency and emissions performance of vehicles, particularly heavy duty vehicles; networked devices; buildings; industrial processes; and electricity generation; as well as work on financing for energy efficiency".
Countries were called on to discuss the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris scheduled for 2015 and confirm support for "mobilising finance for adaptation and mitigation, such as the Green Climate Fund".
Despite US President Barak Obama’s pledge of US$3bn to the fund and the Japanese government’s contribution of $1.5bn, Tony Abbott has verified that Australia will not be supporting the fund.
Abbott’s attempt to push the climate change topic toward the bottom of the agenda of the G20 Summit concluded in disappointment as a number of world leaders, including President Barak Obama demanded for the passages on the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies and the Green Climate Fund to be included in the climate change talks.
Although negotiations on climate change with Australia were like “trench warfare” according to an EU official, the end result for Australia was to surrender.
Abbott insisted that Australia would continue to address the issue “in our own way”.
