At Delhi summit, demonstrate climate leadership

Why in the News?

The G-20 summit to be held in New Delhi is a crucial moment to show leadership ahead of the UN Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP28, on cutting back of emissions and fossil fuel use.

G20 countries and the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

1. The G-20 countries emit majority of the world’s GHG emissions and produce the bulk of its fossil fuels. 
2. Most of the countries have pledged to be “net-zero”, by cutting back on emissions and fossil fuel use showing a high degree of commitment to shift towards clean energy
   • The renewable energy sources pie has increased to 29% of their energy mix in 2021 from 19% in 2010.
3. India has become the world’s third largest producer of renewable energy with 40% of the installed energy capacity from renewable energy. It has also targeted to achieve 50% of energy production by 2030.

Steps needed to accelerate the attainment of Climate Ambitions:

1. Ensure clear governance structures
   1. G-20 countries need to improve governance processes at the national and local levels for just energy transitions.
   2. This involves clarifying responsibilities and mandates between ministries and across government levels to attract investments by having coherent delivery plans.
   3. Establishment of multi-ministerial task force or joint working groups between government and non-government actors to coordinate just energy transition efforts.
2. Aiding decarbonisation
   1. Diversifying G-20 member economies to ensure long-term economic stability, livelihoods and public revenue streams.
   2. International financial institutions should align their investments and risk-taking to support renewable energy and grid infrastructure, and to target energy efficiency and very low-carbon industrial technologies projects.

• For instance, the global increase in demand for and production of green steel necessitates the immediate transition to low carbon steel production pathways, given that G-20 countries represent 90% of global steel production and 80% of its consumption.
  3. G20 has to arrive at a collective commitment for Green Public Procurement to accelerate the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and cement by mandating
     • Low-carbon procurement
     • “upskill” procurement officers,
     • Set time-bound targets to harness the full potential of green public procurement.

3. Need for transparency
   1. Set up disclosure mechanisms on energy transitions-related data through existing mechanisms, such as

• • G-20 Energy Transitions and Sustainable Finance Working Groups
  • Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JET-Ps).

1. 2. Providing that fossil-fuel producing countries should provide current, comparable and reliable information about their plans and projects for oil, gas and coal production and its alignment to international as well as national climate goals.