Eventually, the G20 climate deal was locked up. At the cost, however, of sacrificing two points of weight: the containment of the temperature increase by 1.5 degrees by 2030 and the elimination of coal from energy production by 2025. This is the result of the hours of negotiations that have taken place. consumed on the second day by the G20 Environment, Climate and Energy in Naples, after a marathon that had caused fear of a shipwreck of the entire negotiation.
The Minister of Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, however, said he was satisfied with a “historic” agreement. It was a «particularly complex negotiation – he said – lasting two nights and two days, with the teams working on the guidelines. Tonight there was not much optimism then instead we managed to find an agreement on the press release: 60 articles were proposed, 58 were shared ».
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The brake of India and China
The main opposition had come from China and especially India, the only countries to contest the two points left open in the agreement signed yesterday. Now the question passes to the G20 of heads of state because it is “more political than technical”, reiterated Cingolani. There is “an effort (environmental, ed) underway, especially by European countries – remarked Cingolani – and by the new United States with Biden’s presidency. Together we will make a greater effort to get around 1.5 degrees. This half-degree in perspective can change the impact of the climate in the second half of the century and will have a huge impact on the melting of glaciers and on other environmental disasters due to the climate ». On the other hand, however, he openly admitted, “other G20 countries are a bit reluctant” about the urgency.
The negotiation marathon and the axis with Kerry
The go-ahead for the Climate Communiqué comes the day after the green light for the Environment, always snatched by the negotiators. Thursday’s agreement required several filings but found a – relative – convergence across the board.
The one on the Climate has experienced an even more troubled process, with mediations carried over even after the final announcement of the agreement. US climate envoy John Kerry and Cingolani worked together during the day on the draft of the negotiation which then ended up on the table of ministers yesterday afternoon. The text tried to mediate between the various ministers present at the Naples summit, to secure the initials of the (almost) unanimous Communiqué of the 20 richest economies on the planet.