A weak G-20 agreement in Rome gives oxygen to the political start of the Glasgow Summit

"Because science says so."

The Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, settled yesterday in Rome the debate on the necessary ambition to face climate change.

The host of the G-20 meeting held in Rome wanted to get from the world leaders gathered there a commitment to give oxygen to the Glasgow Climate Summit, COP26, which formally began on Sunday in the Scottish capital although the political agenda and negotiations will start this Monday.

The leaders of the world's main economies - and also the most polluting ones - signed an agreement that intends to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century, the maximum figure that according to the scientific community, the community can afford international to avoid serious effects on the planet.

"If Glasgow fails, all else fails," warned

British

Minister Boris Johnson, who stated that

and warned that Glasgow's chances of success are at this point of " six out of ten ".

"Today, let no one doubt it, we are not going to reach that goal (the maximum increase of 1.5 degrees) and we have a duty to be honest," said Johnson.

Diplomatic sources from various European countries present agree, however, that the language in the official G-20 communiqué is more ambitious than has been attempted to date with members such as China, Russia or India:

says a source from Moncloa.

An advance on Paris

Indeed, the text signed by the G20 leaders in the Italian capital represents a slight advance with respect to the Paris Agreement signed in 2015, which already specified the will to "continue efforts" to limit the increase in temperatures to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The novelty is in the clause introduced, emphasizing the

in terms that had previously provoked objections from Russia, China or India.

The commitment to end the international financing of coal-fired power plants by

2021 is also a further advance, in line with the recent announcement already made in that line by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the great absentee at the Glasgow summit ( He will finally intervene by videoconference, although he has sent a large delegation to Scotland).

The text agreed by the G20 leaders in Rome does not differ much from the goal anticipated by the COP26 president, Alok Sharma, of "keeping within reach" the goal of a maximum increase in temperatures of 1.5 degrees.

Sharma aims to achieve a similar consensus on what could be considered the "Glasgow pact" at the end of the summit, possibly replicating the Rome text or trying to go even slightly further.

For his part, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, had a certain role in the G20 session dedicated to climate change when he was invited, together with the Canadian Justin Trudeau, to address the rest of the attendees about their policies to face the problem.

'Geopolitics, at the door'

Meanwhile, at the formal opening of the summit in Glasgow, Alok Sharma urged leaders to "leave geopolitics at the door" and bury "the ghosts of the past."

"

stressed.

"Without an agreement between us, the future is truly unimaginable."

"Words and promises are beginning to sound frankly empty after hundreds of summits, speeches and press conferences," Boris Johnson declared as the culmination of the G20 conclave in Rome. "The science is clear: we have to cut emissions in half by 2030 and keep the 1.5 degree goal within reach."

"There are no compelling excuses for continuing to delay a response," he

added.

"Unlike other global challenges, the solution is clear. And they consist of making fossil fuels like coal go down in history, abandoning oil-intensive transportation systems and recognizing the role of nature in preserving the environment. life on Earth, and in harnessing the power of nature in the form of renewable energy rather than orchestrating its destruction. "

The Conservative leader admitted some progress in recent days and weeks.

"We have seen how Saudi Arabia, Australia and Russia have made commitments to be carbon neutral, something that already covers 80% of the world economy, compared to 30% when we assumed the presidency of Cop26."

"But this is nothing more than drops in an increasingly hot ocean," concluded the conservative leader.

to do their fair share."

Words similar to those that Johnson will pronounce this Monday when the conclave of 120 world leaders officially opens in Glasgow with a call for concreteness: "No more hopes, goals and aspirations, however valuable they may be, but clear commitments and concrete schedules for the change (...) We have to move from dialogue and debate to real-world action on carb, cars, money and trees ... If we don't take it seriously today, it will be too late for our children do it tomorrow.

Fishing conflict

The British Government's efforts to build a consensus around COP26, however, threaten to be blown up by the open diplomatic conflict with France over the post-Brexit dispute over fisheries.

Several scientists and activists have asked the "premier" and President Emmanuel Macron to sign a truce so as not to jeopardize the climate summit, according to

"The UK and France need to work together to tackle climate change rather than discuss a comparatively trivial issue," warned Nicholas Stern, author of the landmark 2006 report on the economics of climate change. they have to make an effort to get to China. "

"It is frankly ridiculous that an issue like this could destabilize COP26,"

warned Chris Venables, head of the Green Alliance.

"The two leaders are obliged to clarify this matter (the fisheries dispute) as soon as possible and focus on the most important issue: protecting the future of the planet."

Boris Johnson himself assured before returning from Rome that the fishing issue "is frankly like a small beer and a trivial question compared to the threat faced by humans."

A Downing Street spokesman however denied on Sunday that London and Paris had "agreed on a joint path" to resolve the dispute over fishing licenses after Brexit.

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