The G20’s time for climate leadership

(Eco Business, 24 Apr 2017) The G20 must confront its biggest challenge, which is a lack of climate action by global superpowers such as the United States, says Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations director Teresa Ribera.

At the start of 2016, the United States was well positioned to lead the global fight against climate change. As the chair of the G20 for 2017, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been counting on the US to help drive a deep transformation in the global economy.

And even after Donald Trump won the US presidential election, Merkel gave him the benefit of the doubt, hoping against hope that the US might still play a leading role in reducing global greenhouse-gas emissions.

But at Merkel and Trump’s first in-person meeting, no substantive statements were issued, and their body language made the prospect of future dialogue appear dim. Trump’s slogan “America first” seems to mean “America alone.”

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Eco Business, 24 Apr 2017: The G20’s time for climate leadership