World leaders meeting in Germany agreed to try to rein in greenhouse gas emissions enough to prevent a temperature rise of 2-degree Celsius by 2100, a mark they intend to reach partly by decarbonizing their economies by then.
The decision by the Group of 7 countries — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — to maintain the target was taken as a show of commitment to the United Nations climate negotiations set for late November in Paris.
“Mindful of this goal and considering the latest [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] results, we emphasize that deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions are required with a decarbonization of the global economy over the course of this century,” the G7 leaders said Monday.
The pledge comes as negotiators meet in nearby Bonn to whittle down the text of the U.N. climate draft. Some observers of the upcoming talks have been wary that achieving the 2-degree goal is possible given the current pace of warming and a perceived lack of will to make necessary cuts to emissions.
Many experts believe that the Paris pact will leave countries far short of achieving that goal, though the idea is to create an accountability framework strong enough to continue emissions cuts beyond 2020.
While President Obama has made the climate talks a top priority of his second term — the president committed the U.S. to economy-wide emissions cuts of at least 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 — Republicans in Congress have vowed to hamstring his efforts because they believe other nations, such as China, won’t follow through on their pledges.
But environmental groups and other observers of the talks took the agreement by G7 countries as a sign that momentum is building for a global deal.
“The course is right, but more speed, ambition and specific actions are needed,” said Samantha Smith, leader of the World Wildlife Fund’s global climate and energy initiative.
Outside of the decarbonization goal, the nations agreed to more aggressively slash emissions that most scientists blame for warming the planet by 2050.
That the countries affirmed the 2-degree target and also noted they played a role for providing climate aid assistance for developing nations hardest hit by the effects of a warming planet were taken as a sign that wealthier Western nations are paying heed to other countries’ concerns.
One of the largest stumbling blocks so far has been over how steeply post-industrial nations should slash their emissions and over how much money they should give to the developing nations that are expected to contribute the bulk of global emissions in the future. Rich nations had set a goal of providing $100 billion in climate aid by 2020, but are well short of that total.
“While more remains to be done — particularly around meeting the $100 billion goal — it is clear G7 leaders understand that delivering climate finance is a part of their role in the global community,” said Jennifer Morgan, global director of the World Resources Institute’s global climate program.
Difficulty delivering climate aid in the U.S. has underscored the problems other Western nations face in mobilizing that funding.
House Republicans last week didn’t budget for a penny of the $3 billion in new climate aid Obama hoped to send developing nations through the Green Climate Fund. Obama had asked for the first tranche of $500 million in the fiscal 2016 budget, but the House GOP gave him nothing in the State Department spending bill.
But the G7 leaders said they hope to get the Green Climate Fund “fully operational” by the end of this year. They also set goals of providing access to climate-related insurance to 400 million people in developing countries and expanding renewable energy adoption in Africa by 2020.
“Climate finance is already flowing at higher levels. We will continue our efforts to provide and mobilize increased finance, from public and private sources, and to demonstrate that we and others are well on our way to meet the $100 billion goal and that we stand ready to engage proactively in the negotiations of the finance provisions of the Paris outcome,” the G7 leaders said.
