Your excellency Siti Nurbaya, Minister of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia
Your excellency Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt and UNFCCC COP27 President Designate.
Ministers, Excellencies, and friends.
Allow me to express my deep thanks to the government of Indonesia for hosting this meeting of the G20 Environment and Climate Ministers. I regret that due to prior commitments, I am unable to be with you in Bali.
We know that our planet is in crisis. And when the planet is in crisis, people are in crisis. People are reeling from heat waves like no other. Floods and other extreme weather events are ravaging us daily. I speak to you from Kenya, in beautiful East Africa where we are witnessing the driest conditions that we have seen for 70 years. More than 20 million people are impacted and suffering from food shortages.
If there is one crisis that we all understand, it is the climate crisis. But we must also understand the pollution crisis because no one breathes clean air in the world in which we live today. The conflict in Ukraine has exacerbated the existing food, energy and finance crisis. Here in Africa and in other parts of the global south and indeed in the global north, we are feeling the consequences of this conflict.
As we look at this perfect storm, we look to the G20 countries to steer us from the troubled waters. Climate action can wait no more. As we all know, the G20 comprises 80 per cent of the emissions load. So, it is for these 20 economies to step forward and lead action. Indeed, if you do not lead, it can be argued that our collective ship of planet Earth will sink. So, what is it that we need to do? The goalpost is very clear. We need to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C and halve emissions by 2030.
UNEP’s 2021 Emissions Gap Report has highlighted the best-case scenario: if we implement all our net zero pledges, the unconditional NDCs, and 2030 pledges from COP26, we limit temperature rise to 2.1 °C rise. But the reality is we're closer to 2.7 °C. Ambitious NDCs backed by a plan and financing is absolutely critical.
So, Ministers and Excellencies, I come to you with four asks.
First, on our energy side, we must invest in clean energy, energy efficiency, and e-mobility. Indeed, we are heading in the right direction. Since 2020, clean energy investments have grown by 12 per cent. Renewables grids and storage investments accounted for 80 per cent of total power sector investments.
But we do also have an elephant in the room, and we need to name it. We have seen a 10 per cent rise in investments in coal supply in 2021. Let us face it, to cool our planet, we must end fossil fuel subsidies and end domestic and overseas coal funding. All countries must exit from coal, especially the G20. And this must be done as expeditiously as possible.
The Ukraine crisis and beyond has created a degree of energy insecurity. But we can see no regression. We cannot go back to dirty fuel. The UN Secretary-General has made clear the green transition is indeed the only transition that we should aim for.
Second, these ambitious NDCs have to be financed. We promised back in 2009, and again in 2015, that there should be USD 100 billion on the table each year for climate financing. That is the floor. We are getting close to this figure, and I am grateful for the leadership that we have seen thus far. Climate finance is critical. But public finance cannot go it alone. Private sector alliances such as the Glasgow Net-Zero Alliance and others will become important in resource mobilization. It is equally important that we mobilize domestic resources, setting the necessary domestic regulatory guardrails in so doing.
Third, NDCs must show real solidarity and by solidarity, I mean, money on the table. I speak to you here from the African continent where 48 countries have requested USD1.2 trillion in international financial support by 2030 to finance and implement their NDCs. It is equally important that we close the adaptation gap and meet the needs of low-income countries who require between 5 to 10 times more financing for adaptation than is currently the case.
Fourth, the three Rio Conventions are indivisible and therefore the imperative of investing in nature must be an important component of NDCs. This means investing in climate resilience, land productivity and sustainability, because nature is the foundation of our economies and life on Earth. The success of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework requires investment in a thriving, resilient biodiversity. So, it is important that countries live up to the expectations that the world has so that domestic and international financing can be delivered for the global biodiversity framework that will be finalized in negotiations later this year.
The G20 countries can show leadership by investing at home and internationally, to meet biodiversity targets, land restoration targets, and climate targets by 2050. Investing in resilience and adaptation is critical because almost half of global GDP depends on nature. These investments will make a real difference.
Excellencies, Ministers, it is time to work together. We live in a perilous time for our planet. The triple planetary crisis, the crisis of climate change, of nature loss, and of pollution and waste is upon us. The triple crisis undermines progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. As the UN Secretary-General has noted, this is not the time to play the climate blame game. Half of humanity is in the line of fire. I ask you to take action on climate now.
Thank you.
