Despite the ongoing expansion of renewable energies, a substantial shortfall persists between the investments currently being allocated and those that are necessary. The inadequacy of both public and private investments to fulfil the necessary criteria is regrettable. In 2023, climate change was a topic that was explored at a few summits prior to COP 28:
The G7 Summit in Hiroshima aimed to address global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and energy crisis. They pledged to achieve a 1.5°C global temperature rise limit, halt biodiversity loss by 2030, and ensure energy security. Despite Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 remains unchanged. The G7 countries emphasized the importance of high integrity carbon markets and pricing for cost-efficient emission reduction and innovation. Those countries are also committed to enhancing climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, response, recovery, and early-warning systems. They reaffirm their commitment to jointly mobilizing $100 billion annually in climate finance by 2020-2025.
The BRICS Summit in Johannesburg emphasized the importance of pursuing environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development. They committed to urgently accelerate actions to address environmental crises and challenges, including climate change, which is experienced worldwide, particularly by the poorest and most vulnerable countries. The summit acknowledged that global ambition and implementation to address climate change remain insufficient to achieve the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels. The summit also urged all countries that have not yet aligned their National Development Goals (NDCs) with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their NDCs by the end of 2023, taking into account different national circumstances. They also reiterated their commitment to achieve global net zero GHG emissions/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century, taking into account the latest scientific developments and different approaches.
The G20 Summit in New Delhi highlighted the importance of implementing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement, as well as the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC). The G20 countries emphasized the need for developed countries to provide affordable climate finance, technical cooperation, capacity building, and technology transfer for climate actions. They also called for comprehensive financial arrangements to address loss and damage due to climate change, including operationalizing the Fund on Loss and Damage as agreed at the UNFCCC COP27. Those countries also emphasized the need for a just, affordable, and sustainable transition to a low carbon and low-emission economy, based on nationally defined development priorities. Furthermore, they called for developed countries to support developing countries in accessing existing and emerging low-emission technologies and solutions, and for the Global Stocktake to be effective in identifying implementation gaps. The summit also emphasized the need for enhanced financial mechanisms and investments to support the implementation of environment and climate change programs.
The UN SDGs Summit in New York emphasised the critical importance of funding and implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives, as global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. The summit also highlighted the perilous progress on the SDGs, with millions of people experiencing poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and rising humanitarian needs. The summit called for a call to action to implement the 2030 Agenda and to scale up debt swaps for SDGs to allow developing countries to use debt service payments for sustainable development investments.
Even with all of the global risks, climate change has not yet had much of an effect on the economics education that is being provided today. Having said that, it is impossible to arrive at a comprehension of contemporary economies without first gaining a knowledge of the ways in which climate change is connected to conceptions of growth that consider the planet´s boudnaries. In light of the fact that these topics are relevant, textobooks ought to enahnce some modern discussions, such as the following: What are the primary characteristics of a green economy? For the purpose of reducing carbon emissions in the global/local economies, which alternative energy technologies and industrial policies are feasible for implementation in the short and long term? How can green monetary and fiscal policies be articulated to employment policies? How to scale up funding for mitigation and adaptiation initiatives? What is the significance of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the G7, the BRICS and the G20 Summits? It is necessary to conduct a full reorganization of current multilateral organisations?
Online links
G7 Summit (Hiroshima, Japan / May 19-21) https://www.g7hiroshima.go.jp/en/
BRICS Summit (Johannesburg, S. Africa / Aug. 24-26, 2023) https://www.brics2023.gov.za/home
G20 Summit (New Delhi, India / Sept. 9-10, 2023) https://www.g20.org/en/
UN SDGs Summit (New York, Sept. 18-19, 2023) https://www.un.org/en/conferences/SDGSummit2023 COP 27 of the UNFCCC 2022
COP 28 (Dubai, UAE, Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, 2023) https://unfccc.int/cop28
References
Peoples´s 20. Climate Change at the G7, BRICS, G20 and UN SDGs Summits in 2023. Briefing Paper No 1, #0 November 2023.,
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