G20 Briefing: Time to tackle the climate crisis and finance a just transition for all

This policy briefing aims to clarify Climate Action Network’s expectations ahead of critical political momentum for the G20, including their Finance Ministerial, Finance and Climate Ministerial and the Leaders Summit. Over the years, the G20, as a grouping of the world’s biggest economies, has played an important role in setting political landing zones for negotiations at other intergovernmental forums. Among examples, the UAE Consensus and the Global Stocktake (GST) outcome of the UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai stands out with a clear and significant imprint of the New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Declaration. This year, once again, the G20 summit comes at a crucial juncture of the Paris era. COP29, slated to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2024, carries the distinction of being a ‘Finance COP’ and is tasked with forging an agreement on a new goal on climate finance. At the same time, countries are preparing their new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in light of the guidance provided by the GST outcome for collective climate action implementation. 

This is the context for which the G20 must now seek to create political landing zones as it prepares for its Leaders’ Summit, which coincides with COP29. It is of absolute importance that the G20 sets the ground for an ambitious, fair and responsive climate finance goal and for equitable and just national climate plans aligned with limiting warming to 1.5℃ and with the outcomes of the GST. This includes, among other things, supporting a profound and fair transformation of current economic and financial systems, fast and sustained emission reductions, and equitable and just energy transitions. 

CAN expects the G20 Leaders Summit to help realize the historic GST outcomes and the goals of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. Concrete avenues to do so start with raising public finance at the scale of needs with high qualitative standards, setting a clear date for the elimination of fossil fuels subsidies and ensuring that future climate plans are 1.5°C aligned and rooted in climate justice.