G20 energy meeting in Goa: No results
23.07.2023
The just-concluded G20 energy ministerial meeting in Goa, India did not reach a substantive consensus. Faced with record-breaking global heat, developed and emerging nations are still arguing over who should foot the bill.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) At the G20 energy ministers’ meeting in India, the world’s leading industrial and emerging nations failed to agree on a roadmap for exiting climate-harmful fossil fuels. Coal, as a particularly climate-damaging energy source, was not mentioned even once in the document issued at the end of the meeting.
For some emerging countries, such as India or China, the two most populous countries in the world, coal is still an important source of energy. At the G7 summit held in Hiroshima, Japan in May this year, leading industrial nations have reached a consensus to speed up the phase-out of fossil fuels that do not use emission reduction technologies.
The defeat of the G20 group in the Indian state of Goa has created obstacles to achieving the goals of the UN climate conference. The target plans to triple global renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030. Now, extreme weather such as heat waves and floods around the world are once again clearly showing the dangerous consequences of global warming.
Is China ready for extreme weather?
unbearably hot
Northern China has been battered by extreme heat this year. In June, Beijing had 13.2 days of weather over 35 degrees Celsius, the most since records began in 1961. Some days the temperature exceeds 40 degrees. Shandong even experienced a high temperature of 43 degrees.
Is China ready for extreme weather?
drought affects crops
There are fears of a repeat of last year’s drought, the worst in six decades, affecting 6.09 million hectares of crops and costing the economy billions of dollars. From January to May this year, rainfall in Yunnan province fell by 55 percent, and state media said in June that 3 million hectares of farmland had been affected by the drought. (The picture shows an aerial view of the Yongji section of the Yellow River in Shanxi Province at the end of June, which was also affected by the drought)
Is China ready for extreme weather?
Hydropower is challenged
The extreme heat also means a surge in electricity consumption for residents, shopping malls, and office buildings. In February, Yunnan ordered a 14 percent reduction in aluminum output due to a drought that cut hydroelectric power generation. Sichuan province, which relies on hydroelectric power, restricted industrial electricity use for 11 days last August. (The picture shows the dry bed of the Jialing River in Chongqing last August)
Is China ready for extreme weather?
Coal mines and thermal power stations to make up for
To alleviate the power shortage caused by reliance on hydropower, China has accelerated the approval of new coal mines and thermal power stations. Last year, China approved 260 million tonnes of new coal mining. In the first quarter of this year, local governments approved at least 20.45 megawatts of new thermal power generation capacity, which is higher than in all of 2021.
Is China ready for extreme weather?
Floods also reduce rice production
Earlier this year, China’s central provinces were hit by the heaviest rains in a decade, just as rains ahead of harvest rendered 15 percent of the wheat crop unfit for human consumption. Floods also threaten rice growth. Hunan’s rice production accounts for 13% of the country’s total. Continued rains that have been relied on since late June could have a huge impact on rice production.
Is China ready for extreme weather?
Heavy rainfall and mudslides in Chongqing and Sichuan lead to deaths
Chinese state media announced Wednesday that 15 people were killed and four were missing in a new round of heavy rainfall in Chongqing since Monday. Authorities in Sichuan said that since July, 460,000 people in the province have been affected by heavy rainfall, and about 85,000 people have been evacuated. Flash floods and mudslides are expected to erupt this week. A mudslide in Sichuan last week killed many people.
Is China ready for extreme weather?
Heavy rainfall warning issued for 11 provinces
Last week, more than 10,000 people in Hunan were displaced due to floods, and more than 2,000 houses were damaged. Guizhou also moved people and livestock to safe areas due to floods and mudslides. Heavy rainfall in parts of Yunnan last weekend caused roads to resemble rivers and cars to be washed away. (The picture shows the water level of the Chishui River rising after the heavy rainfall in Zunyi, Guizhou)
Is China ready for extreme weather?
Climate warming fuels extreme weather
Some scientists believe that climate change is exacerbating extreme weather. Severe heat has hit many countries in Asia in recent weeks, leading to deaths. China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The goal set is to reach the peak of carbon emissions in 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality in 2060.
Is China ready for extreme weather?
Serious casualties due to ineffective response
In 2021, heavy rains in Henan caused more than 300 deaths. China’s worst recent flood was in 1998, when 4,150 people died, mostly along the Yangtze River.
India, which currently holds the G20 presidency, said some countries had suggested at the meeting in Goa that the exit from fossil fuels had to be more “different from country to country”. There is also disagreement about emission-reduction technologies that use energy sources such as oil and natural gas.
Russia ‘completely distorts worldview’
German Federal Minister of Economy and Energy Habeck (Green Party) who participated in the meeting accused Russia of playing a destructive role in the negotiations. He told German television ZDF that Russia’s deputy energy minister “completely ignores reality” and “completely distorts the world view”. Russia claims that the energy crisis is the result of the 2008 financial crisis.
Ed King of climate communications network GSCC also blamed Russia and Saudi Arabia for boycotting Goa. The two major oil producers “blocked a deal to triple clean energy,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Given daily global temperature records and the impact of runaway climate change, the world should have heard the clarion call for action from the G20 energy ministers,” said Alden Meyer of climate think tank E3G. However, the meeting yielded little.
German Federal Minister of Economy and Energy Habeck (Green Party, second from right) and Australian Energy Minister Bowen (second from left)
Ahead of the meeting, EU economic powerhouses such as Germany and France, as well as some small island nations hit hard by climate change, have urged the G20 to accelerate its move away from fossil fuels and take steps towards a climate-neutral economy.
“Humanity can afford no further delays,” they declared, calling for global greenhouse gas emissions to peak by 2025 and to be reduced by 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.
However, some developing countries take the position that rich industrial countries, historically responsible for climate change, should do more to financially support poorer countries in their climate-friendly economic transition. They emphasized that people in developing countries need affordable, climate-friendly alternatives to fossil fuels.
India concluded in a reference report to the G20 energy summit that the global energy transition will require $4 trillion (€3.59 trillion) per year. Industrially developed countries therefore need to help poorer countries with energy transitions with cheap financing and technology transfer.
(AFP)
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2023-07-23 09:45:32
