COP26| G20 Communiqué: Limit global warming to 1.5°C

The Paper's chief reporter Liu Dong

On the morning of October 31, local time, the Group of 20 (G20) leaders' summit ended in Rome, Italy. In the summit communiqué issued on the same day, the G20 countries jointly called for "meaningful and effective" action to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

"We recognize that the climate change impact of a 1.5°C warming is much lower than that of 2°C. Keeping 1.5°C within reachable requires meaningful and effective action and commitment by all countries. The communiqué said.

However, the communiqué barely mentions any specific actions, only that the goal of net zero carbon emissions will be reached by mid-century, without a specific date. Scientists say achieving net zero carbon emissions is critical to averting catastrophic climate change.

The communique also said G20 leaders agreed to end public financing for the development of coal-fired power generation overseas, but did not set a goal for domestic coal phase-out.

In the Paris Agreement signed in 2015, world leaders said they were "committed to achieving a reduction in global average temperature to 2 degrees Celsius below pre-industrial levels and to working to limit it to 1.5°C."

The G20 accounts for more than 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. On 31 October, after the G20 summit, most leaders flew directly from Rome to Glasgow to attend cop26 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which began that evening. It is widely believed that the G20 summit's statement on climate issues will set the tone for the Glasgow climate conference.

Editor-in-Charge: Zhang Wuwei

Proofreader: Liu Wei