G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial Meeting: EU reaffirms its international environmental and climate ambition

Today, Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, is attending the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministers’ Meeting in Chennai, India. The meeting is an occasion for the G20 members to reaffirm their international climate and environmental commitments with a focus on the issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, water, as well as land degradation and restoration. The discussions will be furthermore aimed at promoting a sustainable and resilient blue economy, including trough the adoption of high-level principles, and a resource-efficient and circular economy, notably by recalling the G20 vision in this field adopted in 2021.

Commissioner Sinkevičius highlighted that the EU is fully committed to becoming a climate-neutral, resource-efficient, circular and nature-positive economy, in line with the European Green Deal. To this end, we must urgently cut emissions, fully exploit the potential of nature-based solutions, and provide the necessary investments in sustainable and clean solutions. On the side lines of the meeting, the Commissioner participated in the launch of the industry-led Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Industry Coalition proposed by India, stressing the importance of businesses scaling up action to achieve the circular economy transition.

Commissioner Sinkevičius said:

Climate change and biodiversity loss are closely interlinked and pose a major threat to our planet, as illustrated most recently by the raging forest fires and devastating droughts and other extreme weather events in Europe and all around the world. We need to act without delay on a global scale to reverse these alarming trends. Therefore, it is our responsibility as G20 members to be ambitious and uphold the climate and environmental commitments agreed in previous G20 meetings and the Paris Climate Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the BBNJ Agreement on the high seas.

Background

The G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial Meeting in Chennai takes place in the run-up to the Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September and follows a series of preparatory technical meetings under India’s G20 presidency. The Ministerial meeting is aimed at enhancing cooperation among the G20 members, in order to address climate and environmental issues and deliver on previously agreed international commitments.