24 June 2010Leaked G20 text says climate change will be a key topic at summit
But draft communiqué also suggests plan to phase out fossil fuel subsidies will be watered down (hmmm)
Climate change is likely to be a prominent talking point at this weekend's G20 Summit in Toronto, despite efforts by Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper to ensure the talks focus almost exclusively on global economic recovery.
According to a leaked draft version of the communiqué that is expected to be released at the end of the summit, both climate change and proposals to phase out fossil fuel subsidies remain firmly on the agenda for world leaders.
"We reiterate our commitment to a green recovery and to sustainable global growth, including through investments in clean energy," said the draft document.
More specifically the text suggests that plans to phase out fossil fuel subsidies presented by US President Barack Obama at last year's G20 summit in Pittsburgh are slowly moving forward.
It states that leaders "reviewed progress made to date in identifying inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption and we agree to continue working to develop voluntary, member-specific approaches for the rationalisation and phase-out of such measures".
However, the text is likely to raise concerns in some quarters that the pledge to develop "voluntary" measures suggest the G20 is attempting to water down its earlier commitment.
Last year's Pittsburgh communiqué represented an unequivocal commitment to axing fossil fuel subsidies, stating that the group would "rationalise and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption".
It also provided more detail on how such measures could be enacted, confirming that the reforms would not impact support for clean energy and renewables, and revealing that leaders would instruct energy and finance ministers to develop "implementation strategies and timeframes".
Fossil fuel subsidies are emerging as a major issue ahead of this year's UN climate summit in Mexico with the US officials in particular pushing for an acceleration of plans to phase them out.
According to a recent report from the International Energy Agency, global fossil fuel subsidies are currently worth more than $550bn (£382bn) a year.
It calculated that phasing them out over the next decade would not only raise funds for cash-strapped national treasuries, but also help cut annual greenhouse gas emissions by nearly seven per cent.
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2265406/leaked-g20-text-suggests
