Bhasker Tripathi

Amid warnings that the world is failing do enough to slow climate change, the Group of 20 big economies has set a goal of tripling renewable energy capacity but faced criticism for spurning bolder steps to halt the use of fossil fuels.

The G20 "New Delhi Leaders' Declaration", at a weekend summit in India, promised to reach net-zero emissions of climate-heating gases "by or around" mid-century to avert ever more damaging heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and rising seas.

Leaders of the G20 group of rich nations face pressure in New Delhi this weekend to adopt a unified approach to cutting climate-heating emissions by moving from fossil fuels to clean energy - but geopolitical rows and a lack of finance are clouding the outlook.

Cumulatively, the G20 is responsible for nearly 80% of global emissions and 85% of the world's gross domestic product, giving the bloc a vital role in taking a clear stance on stronger action to curb climate change, experts said.

After agreeing in 2009 to phase out dirty energy subsidies, G20 nations pumped $1.4 trillion into supporting fossil fuel use in 2022

When G20 leaders gather in New Delhi in September, the issue of how to fund the action needed to turn their economies green and tackle climate change will be high on the agenda.

India, which has positioned itself as a voice for the Global South on the international stage, is demanding accountability on an overdue promise by rich nations to deliver $100 billion in annual climate finance to vulnerable countries.

While friction over phasing down fossil fuels dominated a recent G20 meeting in India, another key climate issue also failed to garner consensus despite the host country's best efforts: securing critical minerals for the global energy transition.

Ahead of last week's gathering of energy ministers of the world's 20 richest nations, India was hoping for collaboration on improving the global supply chain of metals, from lithium to cobalt, used in green tech like electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

As countries around the world ramp up climate action by adopting clean energy on a larger scale, about 15 million new green jobs could be created in the sector by the end of this decade, REN21, a Paris-based think-tank on renewables, said this week.

The policies driving this employment include the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act aimed at boosting clean technologies and the European Union's "REPowerEU" proposal to adopt more renewables and end reliance on Russian fossil fuels before 2030.

Shivraj Nishad spreads jasmine and rose flowers onto trays in his village in northern India to dry petals used for making tea, aided by a solar-powered dryer in what may be a nascent rural energy revolution.

Nishad, 29, returned home to cultivate flowers on a family plot in Sheikhpur by the Ganges river in Uttar Pradesh state three years ago, after becoming frustrated by long hours as a travelling representative for a pharmaceutical company.

To help reduce its planet-heating emissions, the European Union adopted the world’s first carbon border tax in May, which comes into effect from the start of 2026 and has raised concern among exporting nations in the developing world.

Under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the EU will tax imports of goods whose production emits high levels of carbon emissions, beginning with cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers and electricity.

The wetlands where Ugandan weaver Betty Lunkuse usually collects native grasses to create her baskets are rapidly turning into construction sites, floods have destroyed her products more than once and scorching heat can make it unbearable for her to trade.

Informal workers like Lunkuse - who number more than two billion worldwide - often bear the brunt of climate change impacts but seldom get a say in high-level discussions about how the global economy can shift to a cleaner and greener future.

To move forward on tackling climate change, rich nations need to win back the trust of developing countries by providing more finance to help them reach their goals on adopting clean energy, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

As mid-year U.N. climate talks in Bonn stumbled over the issue, Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, told Context industrialised nations must accept their historical responsibility for causing climate change and step up help for other countries to shift off planet-heating fossil fuels.