What Happened at G20 on Climate Change? Nothing New

Indonesian Minister of Environment Siti Nurbaya Bakar greeting the Indian Minister of Environment Bhupender Yadav 

Photo: AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati

While COP27 was nearing it's end, world leaders grouped in Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia for the 17th edition of the Group of 20 Summit (G20) held on 15 and 16 November, 2022.

The host country put forth three priority agendas to be addressed during the summit, namely,

• Global Health Architecture

• Sustainable Energy Transition

• Digital Transformation

What's New for Climate Change?

Honestly, not much.

While climate change itself was not a priority for discussion, the topic of sustainable energy transition provided enough leg room for new pledges regarding climate policy.

PM Modi stood by India's pledge to shift half of the country's electricity generation to renewable sources by 2030.

The summit was primarily dominated by geopolitical issues, straying away from the Indonesia's intended agendas -- food security, energy security and the climate crisis.

On climate change, world leaders did reinforce their pledge to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. While this move was welcomed by those currently attending COP27, the global temperature threshold remains a key point of concern.

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