Leaders of the world’s biggest economies made a compromise commitment Sunday to reach carbon neutrality “by or around mid-century” as they wrapped up a two-day summit that was laying the groundwork for the UN climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
According to the final communique, the Group of 20 leaders also agreed to end public financing for coal-fired power generation abroad, but set no target for phasing out coal domestically — a clear nod to coal-dependent countries including China and India.
The Group of 20 countries represent more than three-quarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and G-20 host Italy and Glasgow-host Britain had been looking for more ambitious targets coming out of Rome. Without them, momentum for Glasgow could be lost.
