‘Urgency’ needed from G20 for more ambitious climate action, Trudeau says
Global News
Negotiators did not appear to have made much headway on securing agreement to phase out coal power more quickly or hastening plans to get to net zero emissions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the G20 needs a sense of “urgency” to address the growing threat of climate change Sunday, as the leaders’ summit kicked off its second day with a session on climate action.
“Climate change cannot be denied,” he said on Twitter. “And climate action cannot be delayed. Working together with our partners, we need to tackle this global crisis with urgency and ambition.”
But negotiators working through the night did not appear to have made much headway on securing agreement to phase out coal power more quickly or hastening plans to get to net zero emissions.
Italian Prime Minister and G20 host Mario Draghi made a last-ditch effort to urge the leaders of the world’s biggest economies to accept the reality of the situation.
“We face a simple choice,” he told leaders at the table. “We can act now, or regret it later.”
Repeated attempts for Trudeau and Draghi to have a bilateral meeting in Rome were scuttled by time limitations. Saturday’s planned meeting was cancelled by Italy because Draghi was running too far behind. On Sunday the rescheduled meeting was first on, then off because the morning climate session went long. Another round of rescheduling and cancellation then took place when Trudeau’s scheduled meeting with Argentine President Alberto Fernandez interfered.
Canada did get some positive feedback on its climate policies from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen. According to Canadian officials, Merkel told Trudeau it was bold to introduce a carbon price as an oil-producing country.
Von Der Leyen met with Trudeau for a one-on-one discussion Sunday morning at his hotel.