Greenpeace International was hoping that the G20 leaders meeting in Seoul would honor the promises they made a year ago on climate action and begin cutting fossil fuel subsidies and helping the world to ramp-up the green economy.
In a recent statement, Patricia Lerner, Greenpeace International Senior Political Adviser said, ‘This G20 (meeting) is supposed to give a strong signal of support for the upcoming climate talks in Cancun (Mexico), but instead we understand there are moves afoot to backtrack on commitments made a year ago.”
Greenpeace issued a G20 checklist that including honouring their promises on climate, closing the gap between industrialised country emission reduction commitments and what the climate science demands. Leaders must also create the financial and regulatory conditions that incentivise a green economy, and agree on the indicators and reporting mechanisms needed to monitor progress.
Another key issue committed to by G20 leaders in Pittsburgh last year and reported on in Toronto earlier this year was the phase-out of subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. A Greenpeace report, written by the Global Subsidies Initiative, reveals a lack of transparency around fossil fuel subsidies. The review recommends that the focus should be on a much wider range of issues than merely revenue maximization.
Greenpeace also called on G20 leaders to invest in climate finance, switch to clean energy and stop deforestation. ‘These governments have a choice: They can lead the world to a clean energy future, safe from the ravages of climate change’ or they can continue to subsidise the oil industry and accept the human and economic consequences of dangerous climate change,’ Lerner said.
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