G20 fails to agree on fossil fuel cuts

By Sudarshan Vardan and Nidhi Verma

Bambolim, India (Reuters) – The Group of Twenty (G20) meeting in India on Saturday failed to reach a consensus on phasing out fossil fuel use due to objections from some producer countries.

Scientists and environmental activists say they are frustrated by the failure of international bodies to stop global warming, even as extreme weather conditions in China and the United States underscore the urgency of the climate crisis.

The G20 energy ministers were due to spell out a common position on the subject at the end of their four-day meeting. But it was abandoned because of disagreements, including over tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Members also rejected measures urging developed countries to jointly mobilize $100 billion per year for climate action in developing countries for 2020-2025.

The discussion about the war in Ukraine has also stopped.

Two sources familiar with the discussions said officials had failed to reach a consensus on phasing out coal-generated electricity backed by carbon capture or storage (“unregulated”) devices.

A draft document seen by Reuters on Friday evening noted the “importance of making efforts to phase out fossil fuels without carbon capture systems, in accordance with different national circumstances”.

Finally, the joint statement released on Saturday was amended to reflect that some countries said they doubt whether carbon capture and removal technologies can address concerns over fossil fuel use.

India’s Energy Minister R.

Major fossil fuel producers – Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, South Africa and Indonesia – are known to oppose a target to triple renewable energy capacity this decade.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan and Nidhi Verma in Bambolim; French edition by Kate Entringer)