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G20 meeting fails to agree on climate policy, EU says 'we are simply nowhere'
By Doug Cunningham
July 28 (UPI) -- G20 nations made no progress on climate policy Friday, failing to agree on renewables and fossil fuel, even as the world suffers the hottest temperatures on record driven by human-induced climate change.
The G20 Environment and Climate Minister's Meeting issued a long "outcome" document full of language about commitments "to pursue environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development."
But the document recognized that no actual agreements were reached that rise to the level of the climate changes the world is experiencing.
"We acknowledge the existing gap between current levels of adaptation and levels needed to respond to impacts and reduce climate risks," the document said.
While words alone won't impact the climate crisis without actual agreements on concrete policies, the G20 meeting outcome document say the member nations recognize the strong need for strong policies.
"We acknowledge the urgent need to strengthen policies and mobilize financing, from all sources in a predictable, adequate and timely manner to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation including significantly increasing support for developing countries, and work together on scientific knowledge-sharing, raising awareness, and capacity building," the document's preamble said.
No agreements were reached for increasing the scale of renewable energy and there was no consensus on global emissions, according to the meetings' outcome document.
"We note with concern that global ambition and implementation to address climate change remain insufficient to achieve the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," the document said.
In closing remarks EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius condemned the lack of progress.
"At the end of our meeting today, is the glass half full or half empty? It is certainly empty when we look at where we stand on G20 commitments to address climate change - we simply are nowhere," he said.
G20 Countries have far more concerns about making, selling, and using military hardware to be concerned about climate change. 'The end of the world' (tic) should never get in the way of the business of war.
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Britain unveils controversial plan to issue hundreds of new
North Sea drilling licenses
By Paul Godfrey
along with two new Carbon Capture Usage Schemes. File photo by Carina Johansen/EPA-EFE
July 31 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans Monday to grant hundreds of fresh oil and gas licenses for companies to prospect for new reserves in the North Sea as part of a drive to make the country more energy self-sufficient and boost growth.
The plan is part of a commitment to several licensing rounds beginning with 100 licenses to be issued in the fall all of which will be subject to a "climate compatibility test," Downing Street and the North Sea Transition Authority said in a news release.
Simultaneously announcing billions in funding for two new Carbon Capture Usage and Storage schemes by 2030 to capture carbon dioxide from power plants and store it in spent oil and gas fields beneath the North Sea -- one in north-east Scotland and the other in the Humber estuary -- Sunak said home-produced fossil fuels had a much smaller carbon footprint than imported fuels.
He said that events of the past 18 months had shown it was more important than ever for Britain to beef up its energy security by slowing the rapid decline in domestic oil and gas production and build on that independence to deliver cheaper, clean energy to British homes and businesses.
"Even when we've reached net zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will come from oil and gas. But there are those who would rather that it come from hostile states than from the supplies we have here at home," said Sunak during a visit to Aberdeenshire.
"We're choosing to power up Britain from Britain and invest in crucial industries such as carbon capture and storage, rather than depend on more carbon-intensive gas imports from overseas -- which will support thousands of skilled jobs, unlock further opportunities for green technologies and grow the economy."
The government claims the plans will also protect more than 200,000 jobs and sought to link the exploration licenses to future energy security options, unlocking carbon capture usage and storage and hydrogen opportunities -- "offshore energy hubs" that would make the best use of existing infrastructure.
The two new CCUS projects are in addition to two industrial CCUS clusters set to come on stream by 2025 -- "Hynet" in North West England and North Wales and the "East Coast Cluster" on Teesside and the Humber -- part of a $26 billion carbon capture spending commitment.
The opposition Labor Party, which has said it would halt issuing of all new drilling licenses as part of a commitment to bring forward net zero to 2030, accused Sunak of pandering to the right of his party who oppose efforts to tackle climate change.
"One can't help but feel this is a smokescreen," Scottish Labor economy spokesman Daniel Johnson told the BBC, adding that what was needed was a clear plan to make the changeover to net zero.
"We can't keep extracting more oil and expect to achieve our climate targets."
Friends of the Earth responded by urging the government to step up efforts to tap the country's considerable renewable energy potential.
"The U.K. is blessed with huge renewable energy resources, offshore and onshore. It's time we made better use of these to cut emissions and lower bills!" the group said in a Twitter post.
Friends of the Earth was one of 50 groups that wrote Sunak on Friday to express their disquiet over the government's apparent walking back on its commitment to tackling climate change including a plan to halt the sale of all petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
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