“ More than most , our two countries know just how difficult this transition can seem ”
CLIMATE CHANGE & SUSTAINABILITY 107 economy by the middle of the century .
Second , despite attempts by some G20 countries to lock in low ambition through to 2030 , we need to ensure that the targets currently on the table are seen only as a starting point . We need to have a process to ramp them up regularly to take into account new science , and better and cheaper technology . We think this should happen every five years , beginning in 2020 .
And third , we need to recognize that doing a deal for the future in Paris will require an atmosphere of trust , and some important political reassurances . As a start , industrialized countries must set out a credible pathway to deliver the $ 100 billion a year in climate finance they promised by 2020 , and then to go further in the decade that follows . This support will be crucial not only for reducing our own emissions , but for adapting to the impacts to come .
Thankfully , the world has already begun the necessary pivot to the new climate economy . Last year , the world economy grew by 3 percent , but for the first time , global emissions did not rise in tandem with it . New research from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate has found that investing in lowcarbon cities could save the global economy $ 17 trillion by 2050 and prevent emissions equivalent to those of a country like India from reaching the atmosphere on an annual basis by 2030 .
Despite the positive signs , the G20 cannot afford to leave all of the heavy lifting to Paris . As last year ’ s meeting in Brisbane showed , history is not kind to those who seek to ignore the biggest economic threat of our generation . And as the G20 ’ s own Financial Stability Board Chairman Mark Carney said recently , “ the challenges currently posed by climate change pale in significance with what might come ”.
This year ’ s Antalya Summit must seize the opportunity to build momentum for Paris . One area of possible focus would be for the G20 to make good on its promise in 2009 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies . A recent report by the Overseas Development Institute found the G20 was still spending almost $ 90 billion a year supporting fossil fuel exploration activities , more than double what the industry itself is investing . This makes no economic sense – as the G20 ’ s own energy ministers declared last month , the G20 possesses three quarters of total renewable energy deployment potential around the world , and more than seventy percent of investment potential through to 2030 .
More than most , our two countries know just how difficult this transition can seem . In different ways , fossil fuels have been the lifeblood of our development . But just as the unleashing of solar power across the Marshall Islands and an unprecedented five-fold increase in hydro power in Angola has showed , everything can seem impossible until it is done . The same applies to our agreement in Paris . And together , we must get it done .
“ More than most , our two countries know just how difficult this transition can seem ”