This resource is also available in English.
This briefing paper, Advancing Climate Action Under Argentina's G20 Presidency, provides an overview of the G20 working structure and agenda items relating to climate action, sustainable finance and infrastructure development under Argentina’s G20 Presidency. It presents specific options for G20 action and ambition in 2018.
Key Messages:
- Infrastructure for development: G20 countries still provide large amounts of public finance for high-carbon infrastructure that is economically and environmentally unsustainable. This investment must be completely shifted to sustainable and low-carbon infrastructure. The G20 finance track must establish common definitions and benchmarking criteria to focus investment on low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure.
- Energy transitions: G20 countries provided US$ 230 billion in subsidies to coal, oil and gas in 2014. The G20 has committed to ending fossil fuel subsidies every year since 2009. It must now commit to a specific phase-out date – ideally in line with the G7 deadline of 2025. The G20 Energy Transitions Working Group should also convene a dialogue on carbon pricing to support the full decarbonisation of energy systems by 2050.
- Long-term low emission development: Several G20 countries have not yet prepared a long-term low emission development strategy for submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The G20 Climate Sustainability Working Group should push for accelerated timelines for drafting and submitting long-term strategies before 2020, including the goal of achieving zero emissions from the energy sector by 2050.