The outcome of the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial Meeting towards climate change was underwhelming, said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The fourth and final G-20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) and Environment and Climate Ministers meeting concluded in Chennai on Friday without a final communique on climate change. G20 members account for 85% of the world’s GDP and 80% of emissions.
“We expected a strong, coherent signal, but we did not get that,” Mr. Stiell said at an interactive session orgainsed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). “With only 123 days left for the COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, we have a lot of work to do in terms of mobilising political support and will that will be needed to land a successful outcome from the conference,” he said.
The COP28 will be the most significant conference since the Paris Agreement in 2015, he said, and pointed out that it will focus on taking stock of the progress made towards the goals globally. There are huge gaps towards targets like the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal, which needs to be addressed, Mr. Stiell added.
The COP28 will also look at aspects like loss and damage and global goals on adaptation and mitigation, among others, he said. Mr. Stiell also noted that financing was one of the essential factors for climate action.
