09 Apr G20 nations must take more of a leading role in decarbonisation plans
A new study has discovered that the world’s 20 biggest economies have made little progress in strengthening their decarbonisation plans over the last year.
Bloomberg NEF’s annual edition of the G20 zero-carbon policy scoreboard ranked countries on a scale based on their decarbonisation progress. Each country was scaled between 0 to 100%, with factors including government support allocated for reducing emissions, the strength of these measures and the policy implementation process. Metrics measured the impact of these policies in identifying changes at the early stages.
Based on the results, the EU, the UK and the US have maintained their position as a global leader in decarbonisation plans. Despite keeping their place, these nations have failed to significantly improve their performance compared to last year. The top-ranked G20 members experienced declining scores due to rising uncertainties among customers, industry and investors, arising from a lack of or delayed information on new policies.
The report highlights a rising requirement for more support in the more difficult-to-decarbonise industries, where cleaner alternatives are limited or expensive, focusing on encouraging demand and infrastructure development. The report also emphasises that G20 nations continue to provide considerable annual public funds to the coal, oil, natural gas and other fossil fuel-based markets. The IMF has previously estimated that national governments worldwide provide nearly $7 trillion of fossil fuel subsidies annually.
The report highlights the vital role of developed nations, including the UK, within the G20, as they collectively make up 18% of global greenhouse emissions. There is a growing need for these countries to take more leading roles and accelerate their plans to reduce carbon emissions.
The scoreboard suggested that the UK’s decarbonisation score declined by 2% compared to the previous year. As found in the study, policy changes, like the plans to delay the deadline for phasing out conventional vehicle sales to 2035 and the changes to implementing regulations on energy performance certificates and boilers, were identified as factors limiting progress in the UK. According to the scorecard, the UK’s decarbonisation score ranked 5th, behind France, Germany, the EU and Italy.
Despite the clear challenges, the report identifies that there have been improvements in selected areas, particularly in the field of clean power. The UK has witnessed a 5% increase in its clean power score, thanks to new initiatives such as the emission trading scheme and investments in clean hydrogen technology.
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