G20 ministers fail to agree on fossil fuels roadmap

G20 ministers fail to agree on fossil fuels roadmap

NEW DELHI: Energy ministers from the group of 20 nations meeting in India Saturday failed to agree on a roadmap to phase down the use of fossil fuels in the global energy mix. A final statement after the meeting did not even mention coal, a major contributor to global warming.

The dirty fuel is also a key energy source for many developing economies such as India—the world’s most-populous country—and China, the world’s second-largest economy. The failure to reach agreement in Goa comes despite G7 leaders agreeing in Hiroshima in May to “accelerate the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels” and with global temperatures hitting record highs, triggering floods, storms, and heatwaves.

Explaining the stalemate, G20 president India said that some members had emphasized the importance of seeking a “phase down of unabated fossil fuels, in line with different national circumstances”. But “others had different views on the matter that abatement and removal technologies will address such concerns,” it added.

A coalition of key EU economies—including Germany and France—and some of the most vulnerable island states this week urged the G20 to accelerate plans to reach net zero emissions and phase out fossil fuels, adding: “Humankind cannot afford to delay”.

They called for greenhouse gas emissions