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C20 Working Group on Environmental Sustainability and
Energy: Position paper
After considering topics on:
-
Energy renewable energy, energy efficiency, conventional energy subsidies;
Climate change and energy;
Global Marine initiative, offshore oil and gas development including Arctic;
“Green Growth” in terms of sustainable energy and conservation of sustainable
ecosystems
the Working Group developed, collected and put to vote about 30 recommendations. Taking
into account the need of urgent transition to new energy sources and energy use, 4 top and 5
high priority recommendations to the G-20 were selected.
Top priority recommendations
1. Demonstrate continuing progress in phasing out fossil fuel subsidies (production and
consumption). (Specified recommendations of Civil-20 are separate).
2. To urge the Governments to stimulate the identification of ecologically and biologically
significant and sensitive areas and granting these areas appropriate use and management
regimes. The most significant and sensitive areas shall be protected from use regimes with
potential environmental harm (e.g. extraction of mineral non-renewable resources, intensive
transportation). In particular to recognize the environmental challenges posed by the
exploitation of Arctic shelf oil reserves and re-think and phase-out planned oil projects on the
Arctic shelf.
3. To recognize the environmental and social challenges posed by all new large plains rivers
hydro with dams, projects that increase the level of existing hydroelectric plants’ reservoirs, and
new nuclear power stations and act relatively, in particular:
- to recommend to the MDBs to adopt in their policies a ban of new coal and oil projects as well
any new nuclear, new large plains rivers dam hydro projects;
- expand the scope of energy subsidies to which the G-20 commitment applies to include
nuclear energy, large plain rivers hydro (power stations with dams at plains rivers or projects
that increase the level of existing hydroelectric plants’ reservoirs).
4. Elaborate and implement new international norms on specific energy consumption in
industries with the highest energy consumption. In particular, introduce harmonized international
limiting standards for maximal specified fuel consumption for newly manufactured cars.
High priority recommendations
1. Nuclear operators and waste licensees should be required to have all financial means in
place, through insurance and other financial instruments, to meet the full cost of damage
caused to people and the environment by accidents at their facilities.
2. To expand the scope of energy subsidies to which the G-20 commitment applies and
subsidies to biofuels that a) compete with food uses for the same feedstock crops and/or b)
impact our limited resources – water, lands, soil; c) have negative impacts on the environment.
Phase out subsidization of nuclear energy production, large hydro and biofuels accordingly. G20 countries also to stop biofuels mandates.
3. Set G-20 members’ timeframe and road map for hybrid and electric car development.
4. The G-20 should strongly support the provision of climate financing of 100 bil dollars annually
for developing countries. Financing should be balanced between adaptation and mitigation with
the majority of funds going to the “Green Climate Fund”. Generate finance from the following
and other sources:
- Phase out of developed countries’ subsidies for fossil fuels, large plains rivers hydro using
dams and nuclear energy;
- Taxation of financial transboundary transactions (FTT);
- Payments for greenhouse gas emissions from bunker fuel use.
5. Given that the World Bank and other MDBs (EBRD etc) have either recently engaged in or
are currently undergoing a revision of their investment lending safeguards policies, we call on
the G-20 to promote the highest quality levels of transparency, access to information, and public
participation in regards to infrastructure and energy project planning, at both the donor and
borrower level. Require donors and borrowers to institute mechanisms to assure public
participation and transparency in planning process, for example, as the stage of World Bank
advisory services and public private partnership support for the development of new projects.