2016 G20 Summit concludes in Hangzhou, China

The 2016 G20 Hangzhou summit was the eleventh meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20). It was held on 4–5 September 2016 in the city of Hangzhou. It was the first ever G20 summit to be hosted in China and the second Asian country after 2010 G20 Seoul summit was hosted in South Korea.

It is noted that Barack Obama and Xi Jinping announced the ratification of the Paris Agreement of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference by their countries. After they did it, it is 26 countries which have ratified the agreement so far; the United States and China represent respectively 18 percent and 20 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

G20 countries score poorly in climate goals report

• Stiftung Mercator and the World Bank Group, Climate Transparency, funded byClimate Works Foundation analyzed key indicators, including carbon intensity and share of coal in total electricity produced, to assess the performance of these countries and found that half of G20 countries are “inadequate” as regards actions taken to curb climate change.
• This is despite energy intensity and the carbon intensity of the G20 economies decreasing as overall economic activity increased.
• Between 1990 and 2013, the carbon dioxide emissions of G20 countries, which account for three-fourths of global CO2 emissions, went up by 56 per cent.
• Key indicators to assess the performance of these countries includes carbon intensity and share of coal in total electricity produced.
• It has found that half of G20 countries are “inadequate” as regards actions taken to curb climate change.

China & US ratifies Paris climate agreement ahead of G20

• The United States and China, the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, have announced they will formally ratify the Paris climate change agreement in a move campaigners immediately hailed as a significant advance in the battle against global warming.
• China had announced it would formally ratify the Paris accordwith President Xi vowing to “unwaveringly pursue sustainable development”.
• At a ceremony on the eve of the G20 summit in China, the leaders of both countries handed ratification documents to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, raising hopes that the accord could come into affect by the end of the year.
• It is noted that the US and China are at loggerheads on a series of issues as they head into the G20 summit, which is being held in the eastern city of Hangzhou. But it is hoped that their collaboration on climate change could put pressure on other countries to take concrete measures to tackle global warming.

G20 members commit to early ratification of Paris climate deal

• The G20 members agreed to complete their domestic legal formalities for the ratification of Paris climate deal as soon as their “national procedures allow”, a move which would provide more time to India to work out its own strategy keeping up with its developmental goals.
• The G20 communique,released in French before it was released in English, committed the nations to ratifying the Paris climate agreement. Leaders expect a rapid implementation of the agreement in all its dimensions.
• The push to bring the agreement into force this year was supercharged last weekend when the world’s two biggest polluters, China and the US, formalised their acceptance together.
• That brought the number of countries joining the treaty to 26 accounting for 39.07% of global emissions. The triggers for the pact to become law are 55 countries and 55%
• It is noted that India came under pressure to ratify the deal after China and the US – responsible for around 40 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions – ratified the agreement ahead of the G20 summit and handed over their countries’ instruments of joining the agreement to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

One nation in South Asia spreading terrorism: PM Modi at G20 Summit

• With a clear reference to Pakistan but without naming it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told G20 leaders that “one single nation” in South Asia was spreading terror in the region, and that the international community should isolate those who sponsor and support terrorism instead of rewarding them.
• The PM urged the global community to speak and act together and urgently to fight terrorism and those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded.
• The Prime Minister’s hard-hitting remarks extended his observations during the informal meeting of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) on the sidelines of the G-20. During that meeting, he had highlighted that terror groups “in South Asia and for that matter anywhere do not own banks and factories”. “Clearly someone funds and arms them and the BRICS must intensify its joint efforts not only to fight terror, but to coordinate actions to isolate those who are supporters and sponsors of terror.”
• The statements also form part of a larger effort on India’s part to press the global community to move towards adopting a clear stand on terrorism. The lack of a globally-accepted legal definition of terrorism has often been faulted for double standards and inefficacy in dealing with terrorism and terror organizations and networks.