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21October 2022.
Introduction:
The eighth edition of the Climate Transparency report was released recently.
Highlights:
- The report, which assessed the climate actions by G20 countries found that the members’ support to produce fossil fuels have reached new heights at 64 billion USD in 2021, despite the worsening of climate crisis.
- Wider government fossil fuel subsidies, which shrunk to 147 billion USD in 2020, rose back again by 29 per cent to 190 billion USD in 2021.
- The subsidies continue to spike into 2022, partly because of the Russian war in Ukraine causing inflation in energy sector, which has increased profits of energy manufacturers.
- G20 members with highest total subsidies for fossil fuels are China, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.
- These subsidies are contributing to the global temperature surpassing the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit agreed under the Paris Agreement and reaffirmed in 2021 at the COP26 held in Glasgow.
- The report also found that energy emissions also rebounded across G20 countries by 5.9 per cent last year, returning back to the pre-pandemic levels despite the warning from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that recommended reducing emissions by 50 per cent to keep the 1.5 degree warming levels.
- In 2021, emissions in power and real estate sector were higher than pre-pandemic levels. The per capita emissions in these sectors in China and Turkey are currently higher than 2019 levels.
- The share of renewables in power generation mix has increased in all G20 countries between 2016 and 2021.
- Countries with highest increase in renewable energy share are the United Kingdom (67 per cent), Japan (48 per cent) and Mexico (40 per cent).
- The lowest increase was seen in Russia (16 per cent) and Italy (14 per cent).
- India experienced an income loss of 159 billion USD (5.4 per cent of its GDP) in service, manufacturing, agriculture and construction sectors because of extreme heat in 2021.
- The heat exposure in India caused a loss of 167 billion potential labour hours – a 39 per cent increase from 1990-1999.
- The labour productivity in the country is expected to decline by 5 per cent from 1986-2006 level if global temperature increase by 1.5°C.
About Climate Transparency Report
The Climate Transparency Report is the most comprehensive annual study of G20 countries’ climate measures. Its assessment includes 100 indicators for climate adaptation, risks, protection and finance.