Climate protection: Expansion of renewable energies: G20 meeting without agreement

climate protection
Expansion of renewable energies: G20 meeting without agreement

The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine overshadowed the meeting of G20 energy ministers in India. Due to a blockade by Russia, among others, the G20 of the leading industrialized and emerging countries in Goa, India, did not reach a consensus on speeding up the expansion of renewable energies. There was no joint final declaration. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) nevertheless sees reason to hope that there is progress towards more climate protection.

Habeck said the energy ministers’ conference took place against the background of two serious crises. At the moment there are heat waves worldwide like not for many decades. This shows how bad the situation could get if global warming is not curbed.

Habeck: Name Russia clearly as the perpetrator

The second crisis that had a heavy impact on the conference was the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. “As we speak, more soldiers are dying, and the number of civilian casualties is simply unbearable,” said Habeck. He condemned the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. It was frightening how a “complete misjudgment of reality” was expressed in the statement by Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin. Sorokin, who connected via video, attributed the energy crisis to the 2008 financial crisis. “It’s just a completely twisted worldview.”

Russia is a member of the G20 of leading industrialized and emerging countries. India is currently chairing the G20. The main summit will be held in New Delhi in September. According to sources in the delegation, Russia was represented in Goa by a department head from the Ministry of Energy.

In his statement at the meeting, Habeck said that in a war of aggression it must be clearly stated who is the perpetrator and who is the victim, according to delegation circles. This is his clear appeal to all states. Russia is clearly the culprit. On Thursday in New Delhi, the minister criticized that India had not yet clearly and sharply condemned the war. China also did not condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia speaks of “terrorist attacks” on Nord Stream

According to dpa information, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Sorokin spoke of “terrorist attacks” in his statement regarding the Nord Stream gas pipeline. In September 2022, several explosions were registered near the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm and a little later four leaks were discovered in three of the four lines of the Nord Stream pipelines. Investigators assume sabotage. It is unclear who is responsible for the crime.

Nord Stream 1 has provided a significant portion of the gas imported into Europe since 2011. However, in the course of the confrontation with the West after its attack on Ukraine, Moscow had already curtailed the supplies before the destruction and then stopped them altogether. The newer Nord Stream 2 pipeline was already filled with gas – the federal government had stopped the permitting process for this second pipeline in response to the war of aggression.

Habeck: Russia uses energy as a weapon

In his statement, Habeck said that Europe in particular had to learn last year that Russia was using energy as a “weapon,” according to the delegation circles. Gas deliveries have been throttled and stopped in order to trigger a gas shortage in Germany and Europe. That didn’t work. Europe and Germany had felt what one-sided fossil dependencies meant. Renewable energies are much more than a question of climate protection. They are a question of energy security.

There was no joint final document at the G20 meeting. After the deliberations, Habeck said that this had not been possible due to the resistance of some countries, especially those that produce fossil fuels. “It’s a bit of a disappointment, but it was expected. But it was possible to make significant progress with most countries.”

The important thing is that the world doesn’t have to wait for the slowest. Habeck referred to the significant increase in investments in renewable energies worldwide. He made it clear that Western industrialized countries like Germany have an obligation to take the lead in climate protection.

The minister called the meeting an intermediate step on the way to the UN climate conference at the end of the year in Dubai. It will be seen whether further steps can be taken so that the world community can respond adequately at the end of the year to “what we are currently experiencing worldwide, that the earth is literally starting to burn.”

Expectations already subdued before meeting

Habeck had dampened expectations of the ministerial meeting in advance. Russia, China and Saudi Arabia are currently opposed to taking further steps. However, Habeck pointed out that the majority of the G20 wanted renewable energies to triple by 2030. The group of seven leading democratic industrial nations (G7), which also includes Germany, had agreed on fixed goals for the expansion of renewable energies.

The economy minister has been on a visit to India since Thursday. India is increasingly turning to renewable energy – but also to more coal, on which the country is currently still dependent. China is also still building new coal-fired power plants.

dpa

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