G20 Summit 2023: Climate-energy talks among most fiercely negotiated topics

September 10 is going to be the most crucial day for this year’s G20 Summit as India hopes it will be able to release the "'New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration” based on consensus from all the participating nations. But, the journey of preparing even the draft declaration or communique has not been easy, with talks on measures to mitigate climate change being the most fiercely negotiated topic other than the Russia-Ukraine war.

The traditional formal communique, named the 'New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration under India’s G20 presidency this year, is a final document which records the key decisions and actions agreed upon by the member countries at the end of every G20 Summit. It also includes a “Chair’s Summary”, which highlights key multilateral decisions and the way forward.

Speaking at a pre-G20 Summit media briefing on September 8, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said the 'New Delhi Leaders' Declaration is almost ready. “But, I would not like to dwell on it. This declaration will be recommended to the leaders and the leaders will then accept it, and only after that we will be able to talk about the actual achievements of the declaration,” Kant said.

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He added that the declaration will have the voice of the Global South and the developing countries. “No document in the world would have such a strong voice for the Global South and the developing countries,” Kant said.

This comes at a time when G20 countries have been divided over commitments on phasing down fossil-fuel use, especially coal; tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030; doubling the global rate of emission technologies; and finance for a just and green energy transition in the developing nations. The degree and manner of reduction in fossil fuel subsidies is another keenly contested topic, officials said.

“The negotiations are very fierce where every word is fought for by the member countries. Over the past two-three days, at the Sherpa-level meetings, there were numerous disagreements, which were being dealt with one-by-one. It lead to doubts whether the communique would be even released at the first place,” said an official involved in the meetings, requesting anonymity.

The official, however, refrained from naming countries opposing various aspects of energy transition saying that the situation is fluid.

Also read: Global Biofuel Alliance announcement likely at G20 meet: Indian Biogas Assn

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General said the cost of G20 inaction on climate and debt crises is “potentially catastrophic”. “Rapidly phasing out all fossil fuels must be the global priority to avoid a climate catastrophe and further human rights abuses. The world is heading towards a climate disaster and the distress signals are obvious. People are suffering as ecosystems and biodiversity are being destroyed,” Callamard said in a statement on September 8.

A second official who has been a part of the G20 meetings but is not authorised to speak to the media said it is likely that the communique would continue using the text “phase down of unabated coal power” from the Bali declaration - the communique from the 2022 G20 Summit held under the Presidency of Indonesia.

Despite China having record high solar and wind installations and Europe and North America accelerating deployment of renewable energy, the world remains deeply reliant on coal and gas for electricity. Coal consumption hit a record in 2022 and will remain at the same level this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in July.

The Summit is also keenly looking at various carbon capture technologies. At the Bali G20 Summit in 2022, the member countries stated that coal be regulated so that new plants not fitted with carbon capture and storage cannot be built. But, it also stated that existing plants can run to the end of their lifetimes. “All remaining coal plants are forced to shut down in 2040. Gas plants all shut down by 2050,” read the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration.

At the G20 Energy Transition ministerial meeting held in Goa in July, which is a prelude to the leaders’ summit, there was no mention of a phase down of coal power in their final statement - depicting the strong disagreements from the member countries, each of who have a veto power.

The G20 comprises 19 nations along with the European Union. The 19 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Spain is invited as a permanent guest.

The G20 comprises countries that collectively account for 65 percent of the global population, 79 percent of world trade, a significant 84 percent of the world's economy, and 79 percent of worldwide carbon emissions.

India on its part has already updated its nationally determined contribution (NDC) targets, under which it has committed to reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030, from the 2005 level and achieving about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.