POLICY BRIEFS

Will the G20 provide the urgent leadership needed on climate action?

Accounting for more than 80 percent of global emissions, the role of the G20 in reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement is pivotal. But will the G20 provide the urgent leadership needed on climate action, asks Amar Bhattacharya, senior fellow for Global Economy and Development at Brookings.

The need for strong ambition of the G20 to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement

Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Japan: Interview from Dean Yoshino on CNBC

Naoyuki Yoshino, Dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), discusses infrastructure and climate change and argues that when leaders attend the G20 summit, they should adopt a global perspective instead of focusing on their own countries. This will help them negotiate and reach a conclusion.

Interview from Dean Yoshino (ADBI) on CNBC

G20 Japan: Action Plan on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth

The G20 members have an important role in supporting the private sector in the promotion of innovation, investment, and a better business environment to develop and deploy affordable, reliable, sustainable, and low GHG emissions energy systems, and to achieve a cleaner, more resilient and sustainable future. Governments play a key role in innovation that provides clear signals and in creating an enabling environment.

G20 Karuizawa Innovation Action Plan on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth

G20 Japan: Action Agenda on Adaptation and Resilient Infrastructure

The Action Agenda on Adaptation and Resilient Infrastructure is concluded by the G20 Environment Ministers as one of the outcomes of the G20 Adaptation Work Program (2018-2019), which outlines actions, initiatives, and best practices that G20 members wish to highlight and share with other countries.

G20 Action Agenda on Adaptation and Resilient Infrastructure

G20 Japan: Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter

The G20 members recognize the increasing urgency to tackle the issue of marine litter, especially marine plastic litter and microplastics, on a global scale, further building on existing efforts.

G20 Japan Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter

Companies plead for a circular economy

A group of sustainable companies including multinationals and 2000 SMEs call upon the G20 to boost demand and transparency for circular products and services. A move towards a circular economy, which is restorative and regenerative by design, presents a huge opportunity. To overcome the barriers, they call on the G20 to secure access to sustainably sourced raw materials, bio-based materials and biomass; enhance re-use, recycling and cascading; train governments in green public procurement; extend public responsibility schemes and green fiscal reform aiming at resource efficiency; and aim for increasing the uptake of high-quality secondary raw materials.

The full text is available here.

G20 Climate Change Commitments and Compliance

In this research report, Brittaney Warren systemically analyses the compliance on climate change commitments made by the G20 since the first G20 summit in 2008 through to the 11th summit in 2016. One key observation is that a higher number of climate change commitments a summit makes does not correlate with high compliance on the issue overall.

Research Report: G20 Climate Change Commitments and Compliance

G20 Energy Commitments and Compliance

In this study, Brittaney Warren systemically analyzes the G20 Research Group’s database on G20 energy commitments and compliance. It finds that of the 105 energy commitments the G20 made since 2009 compliance with the 16 assessed ones was in the mid range at an overall average of 73%.

Research Report: G20 Energy Commitments and Compliance

IASS Policy Brief: An Ambitious Energy Agenda for the G20

This policy brief by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies proposes three measures in addition to the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which should be initiated by the G20 in order to bring about a global energy transition.

An Ambitious Energy Agenda for the G20

G20 Energy Transformation during the German Presidency

With changing economic realities, an ambitious G20 green energy shift is overdue. In order to counter the financial stress in the fossil fuel and nuclear industries and the countries exporting fossil commodities, energy should no longer be left primarily to the G20 “Sherpa track”, but should be included prominently in the finance track. The authors of this policy brief discuss Germany’s opportunity to complete the shift during its G20 Presidency in 2017.

CIGI Policy Brief: Energy in the G20 Finance Track: G20 Energy Transformation during the German  Presidency

The cleverest countries on climate change – and what we can learn from them

Alexander Starritt tracks down groundbreaking initiatives, plans, projects and targets from around the world regarding a shift to a clean economy, both to give credit where it’s due – and to set examples for governments to learn from the comparison.

The cleverest countries on climate change – and what we can learn from them, by Alexander Starritt

COVID-19 and the Crisis of National Development

COVID-19’s rapid move from warning sign to global pandemic has yanked the spotlight onto a number of questions humanity has been uneasily avoiding for years. Beyond the human-focused ones like how to keep a global economy running when flights are shut down, it has also drawn attention to the human exploitation of ecosystems as national assets, which compels the human–animal interactions that probably made the virus infectious to humans in the first place.

COVID-19 and the Crisis of National Development

By Cobus van Staden (SAIIA)