By Paul Davies, Michael Green and Ei Nge Htut
On 8 July 2017, the G20 summit in Hamburg issued a Climate and Energy Action Plan for Growth (the Plan). The Plan reaffirms the commitment of the countries (excluding the United States (US) — which announced its intended withdrawal from the Paris Agreement) to work together to implement the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In summary, the Plan promotes the following measures:
- The main commitments under the Paris Agreement, including the target to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius and commitments to implement nationally determined contributions (NDCs)
- Drafting long-term greenhouse gas (GHG) emission development strategies by 2020, for the period to 2050
- Working towards affordable, reliable, sustainable, and low GHG emission energy systems as soon as is feasible
- Promoting energy efficiency and improving international collaboration on energy efficiency
- Scaling up renewable energy and other sustainable energy sources
- Promoting access to modern and sustainable energy use for all
- Enhancing climate resilience and climate adaption efforts
- Aligning finance flows with the goals of the Paris Agreement
- Mobilising climate finance by multilateral development banks (for example, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development)
- Phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies