RELEASE OF REPORT: Unequal G20 must act on climate change and lead for a safer future, says CARE
A new report released today by CARE International outlines the current G20 climate change picture and provides recommendations on key steps and agreements G20 countries need to take in 2017 and at the upcoming leader’s summit (7/8 July in Hamburg, Germany). CARE highlights the need for G20 countries to take greater actions for mitigating and adapting to climate change to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. These are essential to minimize unmanageable climate disruption.
Wolfgang Jamann, Secretary General and CEO of CARE International: “One of the greatest inequalities in the world is reflected in the causes and consequences of climate change which threatens the livelihoods of billions of people, especially women and girls. Although the G20 themselves are not equal, they must rise beyond their differences and step up to their responsibility. It is time for them to lead for a safer future.”
G20 and climate change: time to lead for a safer future dives deeper into the G20’s role in confronting climate change, with a differentiated perspective recognizing the block’s diversity across various comparative analyses and indices by reputable institutions. For example, while the G20 in total are responsible for 80% of current and 99% of historic CO2 emissions, USA and EU countries have the highest historical responsibility. The fact that today's per capita emissions in US, Canada and others are almost 10 times higher than those of India reveal the stark inequality in the group.
The report also looks at the countries’ level of preparedness to climate impacts, and shows that G20 countries give very unequal attention to promoting gender equality in their national climate plans, which risks underestimating the change role that women can play for effective climate action. For example, Mexico devotes a specific section
on gender and climate change and Brazil, India and Indonesia mention gender, while all other G20 countries fail to explicitly commit to addressing the role of gender inequality and climate change in their NDCs.
The report recommends the G20 to take additional actions in four key areas:
- Protecting the poor from climate risks;
- Promoting radical emission reductions towards the 1.5C limit;
- Promoting gender equality and human rights in climate action;
- Phasing-out fossil fuel subsidies and making finance sustainable.
Sven Harmeling, Climate Change Advocacy Coordinator for CARE International and co-author of the report: “Our report shows that each of the G20 countries has significant homework to do, some performing better than others. This relates to enhancing the climate resilience of vulnerable people, especially women and girls, within their borders and globally. But it also requires accelerating emission cuts in particular through renewable energies. The G20 summit must send a strong signal that the leaders have understood the severity of the climate crisis and the opportunities of responding urgently and strongly. They must not concede to the US governments’ unjustified and self-isolating resistance to the Paris Agreement.”
Download the report here
Download the factsheet here
For media inquiries, please contact:
Camilla Schramek
Climate Change Communications Officer, CARE International
+45 50 22 92 88
[email protected]