Climate deal hangs in balance as world leaders look to soften targets

Rome: Political leaders from the world’s largest economies are in dispute over a collective goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero, dimming the prospects for an agreement ahead of a United Nations climate change summit due to start on Monday.

Talks at the G20 summit in Rome appear likely to scale back the ambition of the meeting in a final statement that seeks to limit the increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius but avoids time frames that would force immediate action.

The negotiations on Saturday appeared to soften the target to cut emissions to net zero by removing a reference to 2050 as the preferred deadline and replacing this with a “mid-century” timeframe.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison walks towards a bilateral meeting during the G20 Summit in Rome, Italy, on Saturday 30 October 2021.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged the differences but said Australia did not believe in imposing its views on others when every member of the group faced different challenges in acting on climate change.

Mr Morrison endorsed the net zero by 2050 target just days before his arrival at the G20 summit in Rome on Friday but he accepted that other countries could not make the same pledge.

“Australia has made its position very clear but we have always taken the view that we’ll speak for ourselves, we’re not in the business of telling other countries what they should be doing,” he said.

“And other countries have different challenges.”

The talks also stepped back from stronger deadlines and targets to phase out the use of coal and reduce methane emissions over the next decades, according to drafts of the final communique reported by Reuters.

The softer target appears more suitable for China, which has a goal of reaching net zero by 2060 and does not expect to start reducing emissions until after 2030.

The latest version of the draft communique says the group would “strive” to reduce methane emissions but does not include a specific result.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged leaders to make a firm agreement on coal at the Rome summit, calling for wealthy countries to phase out coal-fired power stations by 2030 and saying developing nations could aim to do so by 2040.

Mr Morrison has rejected this call several times and said officials were working on the language on coal.

“There is quite a large group of nations that hold similar concerns about this, so we’ll see where that lands in the next day or so,” he said.

“The G20 is comprised of nations, they’re all coming from different places. To suggest there’s always a consensus and commonality on those things, right across 20 countries, that’s a pretty big assumption.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at a meeting with Scott Morrison, compared the looming climate crisis to “the fall of Rome”.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will host the climate summit in Glasgow from Monday, said climate change was “a reality we must face up to” to avoid a greater threat that would challenge the world like other historic changes.

“You saw that with the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and I’m afraid to say it’s true today,” he said.

The United Nations has also intensified its warnings about the need for a strong statement at the G20 to pave the way for an historic agreement at the Glasgow talks.

Mr Guterres warned that existing pledges from advanced economies would not be enough to keep the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“Even if recent pledges were clear and credible â€" and there are serious questions about some of them â€" we are still careening towards climate catastrophe,” he said.

“Under the best-case scenario, temperatures will still rise well above two degrees. That’s a disaster. If we want real success â€" and not just a mirage â€" we need more ambition and more action.”

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David Crowe is chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via Twitter or email.