China and India prevent the G-20 from closing concrete commitments against climate change

The G-20 summit will conclude this Sunday in Rome, with a good atmosphere among the leaders of the world’s main economies to improve the fight against the pandemic and relaunch the economy with greater social justice, but difficulties remain in reaching a compromise between the West and Asian powers, such as China and India, on reducing C02 emissions.

The draft of the final communiqué leaked on Saturday is vague on the climate emergency: there is no firm agreement with measures, instead indicating that the objective is to limit global warming to the level of 1.5 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is vital. to avoid a climate disaster. Until the last minute, the Italian presidency of the G-20 will work to improve the official statement that will be released on Sunday afternoon, but the draft, which is already the fifth of the G-20 joint declaration, shows the tough diplomatic negotiations between countries.

“We remain committed – the draft is limited to saying – with the objective of the Paris Agreement to keep the increase in the global average temperature below 2 ° C and continue to strive to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius above levels pre-industrial”.

That is, while the goal of the West was in principle to reach a firm agreement on net zero emissions by 2050, with significant reductions by 2030 and the commitment to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius of temperature increase between now and the end of the year. of the century, China sticks to its plan to reach zero emissions by 2060, as does India. It should be noted that China, the largest polluter on the planet, with only one of its companies, China Petroleum & Chemical, controlled by the oil giant Sinopec, contributes more to global warming than Canada and Spain combined.

It would not be a good sign if the Rome summit ended with a vague statement on climate change, because the countries that make up the G-20 represent more than 80% of world GDP, 75% of world trade, 60% of the population of the planet and also, according to various estimates, almost 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, the result of the G-20 can mark the debate at the twenty-sixth Climate Summit, the COP26 sponsored by the UN, which begins tomorrow in Glasgow (Scotland), which is attended by representatives of 197 countries, with the aim of achieving concrete agreements to reduce emissions.

global tax revolution

In the opening speech of the summit, which takes place at the Nuvola Congress Center in the EUR district, south of Rome, the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, rotating president of the G-20, stressed that “we can look at the future with optimism”, underlining some objectives that have already been approved, in particular “the historic agreement for a fairer and more efficient international tax system”. Experts consider that it is a “global tax revolution” because it will prevent companies, especially multinationals, from taking their profits to tax havens.

It was given the go-ahead, after years of stagnation, on July 1 at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). There are two major consequences: Firstly, large multinationals (around a hundred with revenues of more than 20,000 million euros) may be forced to pay taxes in the countries where they make their profits, and not only in the nations where they determine their tax residence. On the other hand, countries that have multinational companies with a turnover of at least 750 million euros in their territory can impose a minimum tax of 15%. According to calculations by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the ‘global minimum tax’ could generate added income for countries worth some 150,000 million euros, much of which today escapes the treasury.

A “new economic model”

The economic recovery after the pandemic has also focused the debate at the summit. The world economy seems to be on track, according to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund, with a forecast of 5.9% growth in 2021).

Mario Draghi stressed that with “the recovery plans to stimulate growth” “a new economic model is being built that will benefit the whole world” and considered that multilateralism is the answer to the new challenges: “In the face of protectionism, unilateralism and nationalism, the best answer to the problems we face today is multilateralism. In many ways, it is the only possible solution. From the pandemic to climate change to fair and equitable taxation, doing all of this alone is not an option,” Draghi told the first session of the summit, dedicated to “global economy and health.”

Source: ABC