G20 environment chiefs ready fresh bid for climate deals

G20 environment chiefs ready fresh bid for climate deals

CHENNAI: G20 environment ministers in India readied a fresh bid on Thursday to strike deals tackling climate change, days after heavy criticism for failing to agree on cutting fossil fuel use. Environment chiefs from the Group of 20 major economies—constituting more than 80 percent of both global GDP and CO2 emissions—are focusing on critical topics including climate change adaption finance, biodiversity and principles for ocean-based economic activities. Those agreed by environment ministers during their one-day conference on Friday will be signed off by leaders during a summit in New Delhi in September.

Global temperatures are hitting record highs, triggering floods, storms and heatwaves, climate experts say. “The livelihoods of people are being destroyed,” EU Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevicius told AFP late Wednesday, pointing to the “growing evidence on the ground of devastating climate impact”, including in raging wildfires in Greece and Sicily. Sinkevicius, who is attending the meeting in Chennai, said he wanted reforms to build the “resilience” of people but warned leaders must base decisions on scientific evidence.

“We live in an era of social media where you can be a scientist working for 20 years on climate change and where you can be just a populist, you know,