G20 nations says their COVID-19 recovery packages risk reversing climate-gains

Thursday, 19th November 2020

The most advanced 20 economies in the world engineered to reduce CO2 discharges in 2019 but risk turning the positive trend through COVID-19 recovery packages that overwhelmingly subsidise fossil fuel management, a new report has found. The Climate Transparency annual review of G20 countries' environment action found that they had collectively managed to decrease energy-related CO2 emissions through climate systems rather than external shock by 0.1 per cent in 2019 for the first time. Such radiation had increased by 1.9 per cent in 2018. G20 countries emit about 80 per cent of the world's eruptions. Meanwhile, the share of renewable has also continued to rise and now accounts for 27 per cent of power generation in the 20 countries. G20 energy-related CO2 discharges are expected to plummet 7.5 per cent this year compared to 2019, due in large part to public lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 which all but train the world economy to a halt and resulted in the abandonment of most flights. "Before the pandemic hit, results of weather action were coming to success in some energy-related areas and the crisis combined these trends in the majority of the G20 countries," Jorge Villarreal of Iniciativa Climatica Mexico said in a statement. Unconditional bailouts Researchers from Climate Transparency flagged for example that 19 of the G20 countries have chosen to give financial support to their domestic oil, coal and/or gas areas and that 14 countries cleared out their national airline companies without climate requirements assigned with only France doing so. Seven countries are giving full support to the automotive industry with France and Germany the only ones to have imposed environmental conditions. Additionally, only four of the 20 countries contributed more funding to green sectors equalled to fossil fuel or other emission-intensive industries.