G-20 Puts Off Climate Finance, Asking Ministers to Study Aid

Group of 20 leaders put off tackling how to help poor nations deal with climate change, directing finance ministers to report in November on “a range of possible options” for the world’s most vulnerable countries.

The world leaders also agreed to phase out almost $300 billion in subsidies for fossil fuels in the “medium term.” They asked that each country develop strategies and timetables to end the government aid, according to a statement issued after the meeting yesterday in Pittsburgh.

U.S. President Barack Obama said ending subsidies for fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas would bolster the U.S. economy and curb emissions linked to rising global temperatures. Environmentalists backed the initiative while criticizing the leaders for not making progress toward a new climate-change accord. Countries are set to meet in Copenhagen in December to craft a treaty.

“Some doors were opened as we saw important political signals from both developed and developing nations,” said Kim Carstensen, head of the World Wildlife Fund’s global climate initiative. “But time is running out, and we need to move quickly from rhetoric to concrete action.”

Bloomberg