Rich nations to acknowledge climate change threat, take urgent steps: Draft communique - CNA

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The statement from the G20 countries, which are responsible for an estimated 80 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, said members acknowledged "the key relevance of achieving global net zero greenhouse gas emissions or carbon neutrality by 2050".

But countries on the climate frontline struggling with rising sea levels want steps taken now.

"We need concrete action now. We cannot wait until 2050, it is a matter of our survival," said Anote Tong, a former president of Kiribati.

Tong has predicted his country of 33 low-lying atolls and islands was likely to become uninhabitable in 30 to 60 years' time.

UN climate experts say a 2050 deadline is crucial to meet the 1.5 degree limit, but some of the world's biggest polluters say they cannot reach it, with China, by far the largest carbon emitter, aiming for 2060.

Britain's Johnson said he had urged Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday to do more to reduce his country's reliance on coal and to bring forward its prediction for peak emissions.

"I pushed a bit on (peak emissions), that 2025 would be better than 2030, and I wouldn't say he committed on that," Johnson said.

Xi is not expected to attend the conference in person.

In the G20 draft communique, the 2050 date for net zero emissions appears in brackets, indicating it is still subject to negotiation.

Curent commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions put the planet on track for an average 2.7C temperature rise this century, a United Nations report said on Tuesday.

Pacific Island leaders said they would demand immediate action in Glasgow.

"We do not have the luxury of time and must join forces urgently and deliver the required ambition at COP26 to safeguard the future of all humankind, and our planet," said Henry Puna, former Cook Islands prime minister and now secretary of the Pacific Islands Forum.

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2021-10-29 23:49:20Z
CBMieGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vc3VzdGFpbmFiaWxpdHkvcmljaC1uYXRpb25zLWFja25vd2xlZGdlLWNsaW1hdGUtY2hhbmdlLXRocmVhdC1jb3AyNi11cmdlbnQtc3RlcHMtMjI3OTMzMdIBAA