Rome Mario Draghi only briefly mentions climate change. As one of the global challenges in his opening speech – that’s it. A strong signal that Italy’s prime minister wanted to send towards the UN climate conference at the summit of the 20 largest industrialized and emerging countries (G20) looks different.
This may be due to the fact that climate change is only on the agenda in Rome on Sunday. But also because there have been hardly any results so far. The 1.5-degree target should be encouraged and a common roadmap to an emission-free world should be drawn up. But these lofty goals were shaky even before the summit began: India announced in advance that it was not planning any new restrictions on emissions – and that it would not announce a fixed date for climate neutrality.
After all, the G20 countries want to reduce state aid for fossil fuels such as coal, as stated in the draft final declaration. The subsidies are to be “phased out and rationalized” by 2025. In addition, they want, and this is again becoming vague, “taking into account the national circumstances, to do our utmost to refrain from building new, undiminished coal-fired power plant capacities in the 2030s”.
Climate: Not a big hit in sight
The draft has so far lacked a clear stipulation of the 1.5-degree target, stating that the “efforts to continue” to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees are intended to be “continued”. The central importance of climate neutrality up to the “middle of the century” is only “underlined”. It is the finest diplomatic nuances that demonstrate above all the dissent among the states.
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Germany wants to become climate neutral by 2045, twelve of the G20 countries and the EU want to be climate neutral by 2050. The global climate targets can only be met if China (responsible for more than 30 percent of all CO2 emissions), India (around seven percent) and Russia (4.6 percent) also participate.
China and Russia have so far targeted the year 2060. India continues to hold back with a specific date. “We are dependent on coal and will continue to be,” said India’s Environment Minister. 70 percent of the electricity mix is made up of coal, only 18 percent are renewable energies.
Climate activists demonstrated in Rome on Saturday.
(Photo: dpa)
The negotiators are still hopeful. On Friday, Draghi spoke to Indian President Narendra Modi’s conscience at a bilateral meeting. Chancellor Angela Merkel, for whom the summit is the farewell to the big international stage, will meet Modi on Sunday afternoon.
Apart from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping, the entire global elite has traveled to Italy. On which other dossiers have there been compromises, where are still tough negotiations? An overview of the most important topics:
Corona vaccinations: no schedule
The health and finance ministers of the G20 countries met on Friday and took the first important hurdle: the commitment to supply around 70 percent of humanity across all income groups with corona vaccine by 2022 is in place. Draghi also mentioned this goal in his opening speech on Saturday. While 70 percent of the population in rich countries are vaccinated, the figure in the poorest developing countries is only three percent. For Draghi “morally unacceptable”.
What is still missing is a concrete plan for implementation and funding. “Cooperation of historic proportions is the only solution,” said an open letter sent to the G20 by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization. 550 million vaccine doses would still be missing to ensure that at least 40 percent of the world’s population is vaccinated by the end of the year.
At least Canada announced concrete ambitions at the summit: The country wants to donate another ten million doses of Moderna to the vaccine organization Covax and announced 15 million Canadian dollars to support the manufacture of vaccines in South Africa.
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who will be accompanying the future Chancellor in all bilateral talks, hoped that the G20 summit could lay the groundwork for “that further countries will continue to contribute to a larger extent to ensure that there is enough everywhere There are vaccines ”.
World trade: chip shortages and gas prices
In Rome not only the largest energy consumers on the planet meet – but also Russia and Saudi Arabia, the largest producers of oil and natural gas. Rising electricity and gas prices will therefore also come on the table. While the UN and environmental organizations see the blame for the price explosion in the extreme dependence on fossil fuels, consumers, above all the USA, are calling for production in the exporting countries to be ramped up. Russian President Putin has already promised that the state-owned company Gazprom will supply Europe with all the gas that should be needed. It cannot be ruled out that there will be an agreement on this among the G20 countries as a whole.
Can bilateral talks change India’s rigid position on the climate?
(Photo: imago images / ZUMA Wire)
The fight against the semiconductor shortage is just as urgent. Chips are missing everywhere, in cars as well as in smartphones. Entire industries are in danger of being blocked, and at the same time the lack of chips is slowing the upswing after the corona crisis. Europe and the US are working on plans to become less dependent on Asian suppliers. In Rome, however, US President Biden in particular will also try to strengthen the existing supply chains with Asian partners. Result: uncertain.
Security situation: Afghanistan and Iran agreements
Italian Prime Minister Draghi convened a special virtual summit on Afghanistan two and a half weeks ago. At that time, the G20 countries agreed on a “coordinated response” to combat the humanitarian crisis in the country. This “answer” should run through the United Nations. International donors such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund could also operate under the UN umbrella. It is quite possible that the G20 will agree on further details or make new financial commitments.
One topic that was not negotiated in a large round is the Iran Agreement. Chancellor Merkel met with French President Emmanuel Macron, Great Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Biden on Saturday afternoon to discuss how to save the deal that is supposed to prevent the country from building an atomic bomb. The USA had unilaterally terminated the agreement under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump.
“We are convinced that it is possible to quickly reach and implement an agreement on the return to full compliance and to ensure in the long term that Iran’s nuclear program serves exclusively peaceful purposes,” said a joint statement by the four states. They called on Iran’s President to seize the opportunity and “make honest efforts to bring our negotiations to a close as a matter of urgency.”
US President Joe Biden visits Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
(Photo: imago images / ZUMA Wire)
Merkel will also speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The core of the meeting will probably be the diplomatic crisis that has just been averted. Germany and other western countries loudly demanded the release of human rights activist Osman Kavala, who had been imprisoned for four years. Erdogan forbade interfering in domestic political affairs – and threatened to expel nine ambassadors.
In the end, the scandal was prevented. But as long as Kavala remains in custody, the subject is not off the table. Merkel’s negotiating skills are required here: The EU depends on Erdogan for the refugee deal.
More: Closing ranks in Rome: Joe Biden calls the submarine pact with Australia “awkwardly” threaded.