Call for G20 action on energy issues

An international climate policy expert at The Australian National University (ANU) has called on G20 leaders to take concrete steps to reduce fossil-fuel subsidies and reform global energy governance. Dr Christian Downie said the G20 has been struggling to deal with fossil fuel subsidies, despite pledging to phase them out in 2009. "Billions and billions of dollars are spent by national governments every year subsidising fossil fuels when climate scientists tell us we need to be rapidly reducing global emissions," Dr Downie said. "We can no longer afford to be subsidising those fuels that are damaging our atmosphere and our oceans." World leaders are gathering in Germany for the 2017 G20 summit in Hamburg, which is the first global summit since the United States withdrew from the Paris agreement on climate change. He said action on fossil-fuel subsidies was hampered by countries such as OPEC member Saudi Arabia, the United States and Australia. Dr Downie, a Fellow at the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the ANU College of Asia Pacific, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel has put climate and energy high on the G20 agenda. "Chancellor Merkel, a scientist by training, will be keen to show the world that Germany continues to lead on climate change given the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate agreement in June," Dr Downie said.