The world is navigating away from fossil fuels and sailing towards a clean, sustainable energy future, despite Donald Trump’s attempts to sabotage global efforts to tackle climate change, said Christian Aid at the close of the G20 summit.
Christian Aid’s International Climate Lead, Mohamed Adow, said: “After this G20 summit, there’s no doubt that the world’s largest economies are taking climate action seriously. The message from world leaders in Hamburg is clear: Donald Trump’s isolationist stance on climate policy is simply not going to derail plans to implement and advance the Paris Agreement.
“The US President’s weak attempts to capsize the climate movement have failed: he is now marooned on a political island of his own making, with his head buried in the sand. Meanwhile the rest of the world is moving ahead, having outlined a comprehensive Climate and Energy Action Plan which allows them to get on with the business at hand – the transition to a green economy.
“The G20 (or G19) have collectively sent a strong signal that they’re committed to implementing and advancing the Paris Agreement, and that they’re working together to deliver better growth, prosperity and stability. They have proven that the global evidence-based values which bind us together, and which allow us to confront global challenges, are secure.”
“We are pleased that the EU and China – two of the world’s top three biggest economies – have demonstrated their commitment to steer the way towards a low-carbon economy. Their leadership – and that of Angela Merkel’s – has strengthened the global resolve to make a big shift away from dirty energy. Now, perhaps we can finally shift gears from just defending the Paris Agreement, to enacting it and delivering at home.”
Some 1.2 billon people worldwide do not have access to electricity – predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. “From our work, we’ve seen how renewables are already delivering access to efficient, sustainable and affordable power for poor communities, in a way that helps them overcome their energy poverty”, said Mr Adow.
He continued: “Earlier this week, we saw the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group challenge the G20 to commit to agree a comprehensive climate plan that focuses on clean energy, rather than traditional energy.
“As the LDC group rightly says, ‘clean coal’ is not a legitimate source of energy for mitigating carbon emissions, nor should it be considered part of climate finance support for developing countries. That’s why, multilateral banks must scale up their investment in renewable energy sources, rather than on fossil fuel investment.
“Some of the world’s poorest, most climate-vulnerable nations – like Haiti, Bangladesh and Ethiopia – have already pledged to rely solely on renewables by 2050. They are eager to leapfrog to a low-carbon economy: the world should enable them, not hold them back.”
* Christian Aid http://www.christianaid.org.uk/
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