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Opinion

Others must now follow China-US climate action, or be left in the dust

Li Shuo and Tom Baxter say the deal to ratify the Paris agreement at the G20 is a game changer. However, it is only a starting point, especially with no timetable yet agreed to phase out fossil fuel subsidies

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Li Shuo and Tom Baxter say the deal to ratify the Paris agreement at the G20 is a game changer. However, it is only a starting point, especially with no timetable yet agreed to phase out fossil fuel subsidies
Li ShuoandTom Baxter
Fossil fuel subsidies see up to US$1 trillion thrown into supporting polluting and economically unsustainable fuels every year. Illustration: Craig Stephens
Fossil fuel subsidies see up to US$1 trillion thrown into supporting polluting and economically unsustainable fuels every year. Illustration: Craig Stephens
Hangzhou’s ( 杭州 ) three days of high-level political meetings sent out big signals on global climate action. The historic Sino-US announcement to formally ratify the Paris climate deal and the G20’s discussions on the Paris accord have hugely increased the likelihood that the agreement will come into force this year, far earlier than expected.

This momentum must continue. However, the G20 also showed us how much more action the world’s largest economies must take. The lack of progress, yet again, on a timetable for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies is a case in point.

Environmental activists rally in Los Angeles last November before the start of the UN conference in Paris, where 195 countries agreed on a universal deal on climate change. Photo: AFP
Environmental activists rally in Los Angeles last November before the start of the UN conference in Paris, where 195 countries agreed on a universal deal on climate change. Photo: AFP

To avert disaster, China and India must make fossil fuels a thing of the past

Bringing the Paris agreement into force early will be a fantastic first step towards shaping a new global politics of climate action – and will also offer a comforting safety net against a Donald Trump presidency in the US, as no party is allowed to withdraw for four years after the deal comes into force.

However, it is far from the finale. As the reality of climate change begins, undeniably, to hit the world, climate action can no longer be a side conversation. Rather, it must be brought to the centre stage of global politics.

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