G20 must say goodbye to fossil fuel and recommit to Paris 1.5C goal | The Secret Negotiator

G20 countries are way off track on delivering on 1.5C. Acknowledging this would be a good start ahead of Cop26

The Glasgow Cop26 talks could fail before the conference even begins. This weekend, just as Cop26 starts, the G20 are meeting in Rome. This is a moment of maximum trepidation, as those 20 developed and emerging economies account for 78% of global greenhouse gas emissions. They meet outside the scrutiny and inclusivity of the UN process in Glasgow. What they agree to, or not, could affirm the Paris agreement goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C, or put it firmly out of reach for ever.

First, the bad news. The G20 communique is a consensus document, a minimum agreement. If one country says no, for example, to specifying a phase-out date for coal, it won't be in the final communique, so a vaguer formulation may be used.

Every week we'll hear from negotiators from a developing country that is involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations and will be attending the Cop26 climate conference.