“Action plan without action”

The proposal for a G20 energy and climate action plan, prepared for the summit in Hamburg on 7 and 8 July, remains vague and lacks ambition - and might yet be stopped completely by the United States, the tageszeitung (taz) newspaper writes. The 13-page proposal, also seen by the Clean Energy Wire, refers to the Paris Climate Agreement, promises more money, and calls for rapid reduction of emissions. But there is no mention of decarbonisation or a carbon price. Compared to the first version put forward by the German presidency, there is no reference to “human induced” with regards to climate change, and the timetable of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century has also been dropped. The whole paper carries the disclaimer in form of a footnote: “The United States is currently in the process of reviewing many of its policies related to climate change and continues to reserve its position on this document and its contents.”

Read the taz article in German here and find more background on the G20 process in the Clean Energy Wire story on Germany’s call on the United States to stick to the climate agreement.