UNFCCC, COP28 UAE urge G20 nations to take lead in climate change mitigation

livemint.com:

New Delhi: COP28 President-designate Sultan Al Jaber and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) executive secretary Simon Stiell on Thursday called upon G20 nations to take a greater leadership role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. With only 125 days to go, the leaders issued a joint statement on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting in Chennai, calling on G20 nations to “lead the way" on delivering a positive outcome on mitigation at the COP28 climate conference this year.

“The science demands a strong mitigation outcome at COP28 that drives a significant reduction in emissions and builds on the progress of previous COPs, and we call on the G20 to lead the way on the basis of both science and equity and lay the path to a strong and credible outcome that provides developing countries with the basis to undertake a just transition," the leaders said in the statement. “Together, we must take necessary steps to accelerate the inevitable phase-down of all fossil fuels in a responsible manner, in order to have an energy system free of unabated fossil fuels by the middle of this century while enabling access for all and promoting sustainable development," they said in the statement, which reiterated the importance of tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements across sectors by 2030.

While the discussions at the G20 Energy Ministerial considered energy transition and aligning current pathways with the Paris Goals, the outcome did not provide a sufficiently clear signal for transforming global energy systems, scaling up renewable and clean energy sources and responsibly phasing down fossil fuels. “It is our hope that any progress