MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. The Group of Twenty (G20) leaders will try to find common solutions regarding climate change at their upcoming summit in Rome, with all of them demonstrating readiness towards a compromise, Svetlana Lukash, Russia’s G20 Sherpa, said on Friday.
"The issues of climate change and environmental protection have been dominating the Group of Twenty’s agenda throughout the year. They will be the focus of the summit this weekend," she emphasized.
"As a matter of fact, it is difficult to find common ground. It is very good that all the Group of Twenty nations - you can take it from me - are ready to look for compromise solutions rather than reflecting separate positions on countries as it has been over the past two years, when the G20 failed to agree a common approach," she said.
She noted that on issues related to the climate change agenda, the G20 is playing a key role as a platform facilitating the consolidation of an approach of absolutely different economies across the globe, she said, adding that the G20 unites both economically developed and net zero-committed countries, which want low-carbon development but don’t have enough possibilities.
"The Group of Twenty understands that on the one hand it should not duplicate the UN agenda in Glasgow. But the leaders will try to elaborate joint approaches, Lukash said. In her words, the topics will include possible steps toward net zero, reduction of CO2 emissions, and absorption enhancement. Apart from that, the leaders will discuss measures to reduce emissions in certain economic sectors, first of all in the energy sector, and possible incentives for countries, which don’t have emission reducing technologies and lack funds for their financing.
Touching on the reasons for disputes on climate change, Lukash noted that such disagreements "stem from the fact that more advanced and developing countries are in different conditions." "So, they can afford to move toward net zero or reduce emissions differently," she explained.
She noted that "it is possible to speak about radical emission reduction and the transfer of the entire energy sector to renewable sources" only on condition of possessing advanced technologies. In her words, the current price hikes on energy markets are the result of "unbalanced decisions on changing the energy balance."
According to Lukash, the reduction of carbon intensity is a general trend. "But it is impossible to ensure the economy’s smooth operation, and, what is more important, proper living standards, without a stable, sustainable energy system involving traditional energy resources as well," she stressed. "If developed countries can afford certain solutions now, then for many countries, including in the G20, there are still issues of energy poverty and achieving sustainable development goals, where it is not always possible to rely on clean, but rather expensive sources of energy."
"Sherpa-level discussions demonstrate that developed countries understand that it is senseless to demand any commitments without assistance, without removing trade barriers, without ensuring access to technologies, and without reckoning with national approaches," she said. "We have a common task - to preserve climate rather than simply to ensure the technological leadership on the basis of the current tendency of global energy transition."
Along with the climate change topics, according to Lukash, the agenda prioritizes environmental protection and the conservation of biodiversity.