The leaders of the world’s top economies have issued a stunning rebuke of US President Donald Trump, signing a joint statement at the G20 summit strengthening their commitment to the Paris climate agreement and declaring their support for open trade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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G20 members agreed to a statement reaffirming each leader’s commitment to tackle climate change. (Reuters: Yves Herman)<\/p>\n
As he opened the summit on Saturday, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed the 19 countries participating in the forum had agreed by “overwhelming consensus” to endorse “a worthy G20 leaders’ document”.<\/p>\n
G20 leaders are ‘saving the furniture’ as Trump leads a boycott<\/a><\/p>\n Trump’s absence could neuter the forum’s ability to move the dial on the summit’s priorities, including helping nations adapt to weather disasters, the transition to clean energy, cutting excessive debt costs and working together in the global rush for critical minerals.<\/p>\n Mr Trump refused to attend the summit \u2014 the only G20 member to boycott \u2014 and urged world leaders not to sign the traditional joint declaration at its conclusion.<\/p>\n Instead, the leaders, including Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, united behind the 30-page communique.\u00a0<\/p>\n The document makes multiple references to climate change \u2014 which Mr Trump has described as a “hoax” \u2014 net zero and the Paris Agreement, from which the US is withdrawing.<\/p>\n Overwhelming support for climate change<\/p>\n Mr Albanese told reporters at a press conference in Johannesburg “it’s a good thing” the joint statement was adopted.<\/p>\n “It’s a very positive sign that the world wants to get on with cooperating and it’s a very positive statement going forward,” he said.<\/p>\n A source close to the negotiations expressed relief that the declaration “finally” included a shared commitment to open trade, at a time when Mr Trump was seeking to re-write the global rules in his favour.<\/p>\n Donald Trump refused to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. (AP: Evan Vucci)<\/p>\n Asked whether the statement was a repudiation of the policies Mr Trump was pursuing, Mr Albanese said it simply reflected commitments leaders had already made.<\/p>\n Coalition would back Labor’s environment laws with ‘sensible’ amendments<\/a><\/p>\n The opposition has identified seven key areas where change would be required for the Coalition to support Labor’s proposed reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.<\/p>\n “It’s about what the world has committed to: the Paris agreement and to action on climate change,” he said.<\/p>\n “There is overwhelming support for action on climate change.”<\/p>\n Domestically, the inclusion of the words “net zero” in the statement puts the Coalition at odds with the world’s 19 biggest economies and raises questions about whether a Coalition government could have supported it.<\/p>\n Costs of climate action laid bare<\/p>\n The statement “reaffirmed” each leaders’ commitment “to tackle climate change by strengthening the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement”.<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n It also highlighted the stark challenges, and costs, countries were facing in meeting their emissions reduction targets, also known as “nationally determined contributions”.<\/p>\n “We highlight that the needs of developing countries to implement their nationally determined contributions are estimated at $US5.8-5.9 trillion for the pre-2030 period,” the statement reads.<\/p>\n Fossil fuel phase-out<\/p>\n As Mr Albanese was preparing to sign the G20 Leaders’ Declaration, his Energy Minister Chris Bowen was endorsing a separate climate agreement at the COP30 conference in Brazil.<\/p>\n The “Bel\u00e9m Declaration on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels” contains “the strongest language on phasing out fossil fuels that Australia has ever supported”, according to Michael Poland from the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.<\/p>\n Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed Anthony Albanese at the G20 summit.\u00a0 (ABC: Luke Stephenson)<\/p>\n “We support the call to advance a road map for the transition away from fossil fuels to scale-up collective action and implementation,” the Belem Declaration reads.<\/p>\n “Fossil fuels are the main drivers of global greenhouse gas emissions and that the projected CO\u2082 emissions from continued fossil fuel production, licensing, and subsidies are incompatible with limiting the temperature rise to 1.5\u00b0C.”<\/p>\n The G20 summit is being held at the Nasrec Expo centre, in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Reuters: Esa Alexander)<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Mr Bowen said Australia was “instrumental in delivering the landmark agreement by all countries at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels” and supported the Bel\u00e9m declaration “including its call for a road map to give effect to that commitment”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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