G20 leaders fail to break UN climate talks deadlock

Leaders attending the launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty pose for a group photo after the first session of the G20 Leaders’ Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18, 2024. Agence France-Presse

RIO DE JANEIRO — G20 leaders failed Monday to reach a breakthrough on stalled climate talks by not committing the money the United Nations is seeking to help developing countries cope with global warming.

In a joint statement issued as they held a summit in Rio, the leaders spoke only of the trillions of dollars needed coming “from all sources,” without specifying.

They also spoke of phasing out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” — instead of fossil fuels themselves, which play a key role in global warming.

READ: UN chief urges G20 ‘leadership’ on stalled climate talks

“The leaders are kicking the can back to Baku,” the capital of Azerbaijan where UN climate talks are happening, said Mick Sheldrick, co-founder of the advocacy group Global Citizen.

Participants listen to speeches during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku on November 13, 2024. Agence France-Presse

“They haven’t stepped up to the challenge… This is probably going to make it harder to achieve an agreement,” he said.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said ahead of attending the G20 summit that its members needed to show “leadership and compromise” to rescue the deadlocked climate talks.

READ: Midway into COP29, climate action woefully insufficient

Negotiators in Azerbaijan are unable to reach agreement on a deal for climate investments in developing nations after more than a week of deliberations.

The talks are stuck over the final figure, the type of financing, and who should pay, with Western countries wanting China and wealthy Gulf states — many reliant on fossil fuel revenues — to join the list of donors.