In Rome, the G20 countries found a compromise on the climate that does not bury the Paris agreement but also does not give the push forward that some countries - and among these Italy - hoped for. Mario Draghi in his final greeting at the end of the Rome summit sums up the summit: the G20 countries have decided on a binding commitment to reduce global warming by a maximum of 1,5 degrees more than in 1990 and to get out of coal within or around the middle of the century. It was also decided to eliminate public contributions for the construction of new coal-fired plants by the end of the year. In practice, China's proposal to postpone the date of decarbonisation to 2060 has been rejected, although a precise deadline has not been set.
«At this summit – added Draghi – we have ensured that our dreams are still alive but now we must make sure that we turn them into facts. I want to thank the activists who keep us on track. Many say they are tired of blah blahI believe this summit was full of substance. We have filled the words with substance ».
G20 ROME: A SUCCESS, WE MOVED AHEAD
Among the successes of the G20 in Rome, Draghi himself said as outgoing president of the G20, is the decision to ensure anti-Covid19 vaccines for the poorest countries. The go-ahead from all G20 members on the global minimum tax launched during the summer by the OECD was also confirmed. But above all in passing the baton to Indonesia, the next president of the G20: «We want to be judged by what we do, not what we say. We are aware that our credibility both as individual countries and as an international body it depends on our actions. We will be judged for what we do." Italy triples its commitment to the climate, bringing it to 1,4 billion a year for the next 5 years. "Considerable resources, we will proceed hand in hand with our strength", he concluded. "We are aware that our credibility both as individual countries and as an international body it depends on our actions. We will be judged for what we do." An invitation to pass from words to deeds. Furthermore, according to Draghi, another success of the summit was to leave a sense of greater optimism on the prospects of multilateralism without which objectives such as the containment of global warming would be impossible to achieve.
G20 ROME, A STEP AHEAD THAN PARIS
The Paris Agreement indicated the goal of global warming within 1,5 or even 2 degrees at most, Draghi said. “Everyone now recognizes the scientific validity of the 1,5 degree target and pledges in meaningful language not to lose sight of this point. Now let's talk about reaching out goal of zero carbon dioxide emissions by mid-century. This too is new with respect to the past and the Paris Agreement. After that agreement, emissions increased,” Draghi recalled.
Another success of the G20 Rome concerns the Fund for Developing Countries. “We are close to the goal of 100 billion for developing countries, we are around 82 billion. In any case, Italy has announced its allocation, raising it to 1,4 billion a year for 5 years,” he said.
In conclusion of the press conference at the end of the summit: “Proud of these results but we must remember that we are only at the beginning. We will remember it as a successful summit. We managed to keep our dreams alive, committing ourselves to further gigantic allocations of money, further promises to reduce climate-changing emissions. But let's remember that the final judgment is made on the basis of what we do, not what we say. There was also an invitation to be more concrete”, were Mario Draghi's final words.
Draghi has acknowledged that Russia and China have changed their positions in a less rigid sense. “Until now we didn't share all the ambitions. Today we all share goals. What is left to share is the speed of action. We shared the awareness that multilateralism is the solution to achieve the goals”.
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