The heightened tension in the Middle East has
become a key early test for the 2020 Saudi-hosted G20, with Riyadh urging de-escalation. Yet this year’s G20, the first-ever hosted by an Arab state,
has the potential to be memorable for a quite different reason: A
breakthrough on the climate agenda.
One of the key themes of the Saudi presidency
of the G20, in the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris climate change agreement,
is safeguarding the planet by fostering collective efforts.
Tackling global warming is central to this
agenda and the G20 leadership meeting in November starts immediately after
the annual UN Climate Summit finishes in Glasgow, at which there is already
significant pressure to make major progress on implementing the Paris
commitments.
Indeed, the two-week summit in Glasgow is
being billed as the most important climate gathering since 2015, with some
200 world leaders attending. The event held just after the US presidential
election is, therefore, a potential crossroads in the battle against global
warming, and a test of the diplomatic mettle of UK Prime Minister Boris
Johnson’s government.
It is in this context that environmental
themes will potentially be key to this year’s G20 and given current
escalated concern over climate change, this year’s summitry could become the
most significant since the UK-hosted 2009 leaders meeting in London during
the storm of the international financial crisis.
Since then, when then-French President Nicolas
Sarkozy claimed that “the G20 foreshadows the planetary governance of the
21st century,” the body is perceived by some to have seized the mantle from
the G7 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation and global
economic governance.
The reason why the G20 has so much potential
influence is that it is comprised of the powers accounting for some 90
percent of global gross domestic product, 80 percent of world trade and around 66 percent of the global population. Those powers are the US, China,
Germany, India, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Russia, Brazil, the UK, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, South Korea,
Argentina, Mexico, and the EU.
Yet the forum has failed so far to realize the full scale of the ambition that some like Sarkozy thrust upon it. So, a major
win in 2020 on the climate front, achieved in combination with the UN Summit
in Glasgow, is a key opportunity for Saudi Arabia and the UK.
With Trump in power until at least 2021, one
of the key tasks of the G20 and the UN Climate Summit will be seeking to bring him into, or neutralize his opposition to, any bold new action on climate change. While this will be difficult, 2019 saw a massive awakening of
concern about global warming issues.
While Saudi Arabia has been criticized by some
for its own climate change record, data released by the International Energy
Agency in December showed that the Kingdom lowered its emissions in 2018 by
15 million tons of carbon dioxide (or by 2.7 percent).
That is the fourth-fastest fall in emissions
among G20 countries, behind Mexico, Germany and France. This is potentially
important as it is Saudi Arabia’s first significant policy-induced reduction
in carbon emissions.
The reason why it is so important to act in
the 2020 window of opportunity that now exists is the high risk that under
current emissions trajectories and Paris pledges, global warming will exceed
1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the level beyond which
threatens runaway climate change.
The roadmap for moving forward in 2020 is
clear. Firstly, the implementation of the Paris deal will be most effective through national laws, where politically feasible. Country commitments put forward in 2015 will be most credible and durable if backed up by legislation.
In the US, part of the reason Trump could
unravel Paris ratification so relatively straightforwardly is that it was
politically impossible to get the treaty approved in Congress. Former
President Barack Obama therefore embedded the agreement through executive
order, before Trump set his own executive actions reversing his predecessor’s
order.
While the pledges made for Paris are not yet
enough, the treaty has crucially put in place the domestic legal frameworks
that are crucial building blocks to measure, report, verify and manage
greenhouse gas emissions.
Specifically, countries are required under the
agreement to report on emissions and their progress in reaching the goals in their national plans submitted to the UN, and update them every five years,
including in Glasgow. In the future, these frameworks must be replicated in
even more countries, and progressively ratcheted up.
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As one of the most influential players in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's actions have far-reaching consequences for West Asian geopolitics. In recent years, we've seen several moves from this powerful nation that are shaking up traditional power dynamics and creating new alliances. From its diplomatic spat with Qatar to its growing relationship with Israel, Saudi Arabia is making bold moves that could change the face of West Asia as we know it. Join us as we dive into the geopolitical implications of Saudi Arabia's latest actions and explore what they mean for the future of this critical region. Saudi Arabia has long been a dominant force in the Middle East, wielding its oil wealth and religious influence to shape regional politics. Its alliance with the United States has given it even greater sway on the global stage, making it a key player in shaping West Asian geopolitics. However, Saudi Arabia's role in the region is not without controversy. Its support for conse...
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