G20 Summit Not Satisfactory, Climate Issues Burden at COP 26
The summit of the G20 countries failed to produce concrete commitments to deal with the global climate crisis. A tough task awaits the participants of COP 26.
By
A Tomy Trinugroho from Glasgow, Scotland
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BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN/LAILY RACHEV
President Joko Widodo (center) at the closing session of the G-20 Summit in La Nuvola, Rome, Italy, Sunday (31/10/2021).
GLASGOW, KOMPAS - The leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) countries did not offer much concrete commitment in efforts to limit global warming and tackle climate change at the G20 Summit, which ended on Sunday (31/10/2021) in Rome, Italy. The non-optimal result of days of negotiations by diplomats left a great task for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
The summit document stated that countries' plans to limit emissions must be strengthened "if needed". There is no specific time limit to reach the carbon-free target by 2050.
"We recognize that the impact of climate change at 1.5 degrees Celsius is much lower than at 2 degrees Celsius. To achieve the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, it takes important and effective steps as well as the commitment of all countries," the communique of the summit says.
This is an honor for us, for Indonesia and a big responsibility that we must carry out well.
After the meeting in Rome, most of the G20 leaders, including President Joko Widodo, flew to Glasgow to attend COP 26. At the closing session of the summit in Rome, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi handed over the presidency of the G20 to President Joko Widodo.
This G20 presidency is a first for Indonesia and will last from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2022. “This is an honor for us, for Indonesia and a big responsibility that we must carry out well," said the President in a statement last Friday.
Disappointing
The communiqué of the G20 leaders was viewed by many as a disappointing result. The statement was seen as half-hearted, lacking real and concrete actions. G20 leaders mentioned the main relevance to halting carbon emissions only “in or around the middle of this century.” This phrase has changed from the initial draft, making the targets set at the G20 summit less specific.
China, the world's largest carbon emitter, together with Russia and Saudi Arabia are targeting to cut emissions by 2060. The leaders of the three countries were not present in Rome.
In the communique, the G20 leaders promised to stop financing coal-fired power plants abroad by the end of this year. However, they did not set a date for stopping the use of coal for domestic power plants. They only mentioned that the termination would take place as soon as possible.
BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN/LAILY RACHEV
President Joko Widodo and a limited entourage await the start of the G-20 Summit on the second day, in La Nuvola, Rome, Italy, Sunday (31/10/2021).
The previously circulated draft states that the termination of coal use at the national level is set for 2030. This shows how strong the lobbying of entrepreneurs in several countries that depend on coal is.
According to a French official, the communique that was drafted reflected an affirmation of common goals, but wanted to provide flexibility regarding “the diversity of the G20 countries, in particular China, India and Indonesia.”
The environmental campaign group Greenpeace condemned the statement as "weak, lacking ambition and vision". They called the G20 leaders “failing to keep the moment.” “If the G20 was a rehearsal for COP26, world leaders are screwing up the deadline,” said Greenpeace executive director Jennifer Morgan.
Another issue that was also highlighted at the G20 Summit was recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati revealed that the G20 countries had agreed to prepare a mechanism to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic. Differences in capacities between countries in overcoming health threats are a big challenge in global economic recovery.
In a meeting between finance ministers and health ministers of G20 countries, Sri Mulyani emphasized that the world's economic recovery depended on how quick the world was able to contain the spread of Covid-19. "Leadership of the G20 is an important part in promoting coordinated global action to detect and address future health threats," Sri Mulyani said in a statement via the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel published on Saturday (30/10).
Sri Mulyani said there were still countries with less than 3 percent of their population vaccinated. On average, vaccination coverage in poor countries is only 6 percent of the population. While on the other hand, developed countries have vaccinated 70 percent of the population.
BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN/MUCHLIS JR
Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati gave a statement at the Splendide Royal Hotel, Rome, Italy, on Saturday, October 30, 2021 local time, after accompanying President Joko Widodo at the G-20 Summit in La Nuvola.
Corporate role
After the G20 Summit, the world's attention now focuses on COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. Besides being attended by state leaders, business figures and corporate leaders are also present. Corporations pay great attention to the threat of climate change. The corporation sees the need for mitigation and adaptation efforts to overcome these threats.
One of the largest pulp-producing companies in Indonesia, PT Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (RAPP), has a series of policies to support the government in tackling the threat of climate change. In the April 2030 Vision, there are four steps to be realized in reducing the threat of climate change. April is the parent group of PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, which produces 2.8 million tons of pulp per year.
Every step is made into a performance target for each division, down to becoming individual targets for each employee.
Sihol Aritonang, president director of RAPP, in Edinburgh, Scotland, said Sunday that one of the four steps was sustainable growth. The target of this step is very concrete, namely to make operations at mills or factories greener by, among other things, increasing the use of solar panels. The target by 2030 is that 90 percent of the energy sources at the operational sites are renewable. "Every step is made into a performance target for each division, down to becoming individual targets for each employee," he said.
Sihol is in Edinburgh to attend COP26 and speak in a panel discussion at the Indonesia Pavilion on concrete steps corporations take to address the threat of climate change. Other corporate leaders attending the event include Pertamina president director Nicke Widyawati, PT PLN president director Zulkifli Zaini and RGE managing director Anderson Tanoto.
COP26 is expected to produce a breakthrough in the form of a new commitment from state leaders to prevent an Earth temperature rise of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-Industrial era or before the invention of the steam engine. The efforts to overcome the rising temperature of the Earth's surface are considered not only the responsibility of the state, but also the corporations that employ tens of thousands of people. Their contribution will determine the achievement of the target set by each country.
