By Jill Fraser
BRISBANE
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott had tried to set the agenda - the G20 would focus squarely on economic issues.
But just days before the summit in Brisbane, the United States and China had announced a historic deal in which the U.S. had said it would cut carbon emissions by 26-to-28 percent by 2025 and China set a goal for its emissions to peak in 2030.
Abbott, who remains skeptical of man-made climate change, has been left with egg on his face as the summit draws to a close, and the climate is the winner.
In a landmark speech given to university students during the summit, U.S. President Barack Obama had warned governments such as Australia’s that they cannot ignore their global responsibilities to address climate change more firmly.
Obama’s words placed climate at the forefront of the G20 and reset the official agenda.
The U.S. president announced a $3 billion contribution to the Green Climate Fund - the United Nations fund to help poorer countries tackle climate change - and urged young Australians to pressure politicians to resist vested interests and tackle global warming.
Obama said all nations had a responsibility to act, pointing specifically to Australia and emphasizing the extreme weather it faced as the planet warmed.
The even said he was planning to bring his daughter back to visit the Great Barrier Reef.
"I want them to be able to bring their daughters or sons to visit and I want that [the Reef] there 50 years from now," he added.
British Prime Minister David Cameron joined calls for Abbott to do more to tackle climate change, saying “countries that have so far done the least have to think about what more they can do."
Speaking on Sky News, Cameron said that every nation needs to “put more on the table” if the world is to reach a successful agreement in Paris next year on reducing greenhouse emissions after 2020.
“I’ve had good and friendly discussions with Prime Minister Abbott about that [doing more],” he said, adding that even those unsure of climate science should regard action as a form of “insurance.”
“I hope [Australia will] do everything they can in the coming months to look at what more they can deliver, because when it comes to Paris if we want to get a global agreement everyone is going to have to bring something to the table.”
Several leaders, including French President François Hollande, made strong statements in support of immediate action on climate change and commitments to the green climate fund.
The Guardian reported that after bitter behind-the-scenes discussions and fierce opposition from Australia – as revealed by Guardian Australia – a reference encouraging countries to promise money to funds such as the green climate fund was included in the G20s final communique.
Fairfax press reported that Abbott powerfully defended coal and the fossil fuel industry and argued against inserting a line in the communique recommending the abolition of fossil fuel subsidies - an objective of the G20 for many years.
It is understood that Obama vehemently opposed Abbott's position on fossil fuel subsidies.
The final G20 communique calls on members to "rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies."
Abbott’s position was supported by Saudi Arabia and Canada, while the U.S. and Europe remained steadfast.
Outside of the anticipated commitment to boost global growth by more than 2 percent by 2018, close tax loopholes used by multinationals, improve trade and coordinate a stronger response to the Ebola epidemic, the G20 countries have pledged to support "strong and effective" action on climate change and encourage countries to announce post-2020 targets for emissions reductions to do so "well in advance" of the Paris Climate Change summit next year.
Australian Green Leader Christine Milne told The Anadolu Agency on Sunday: “What other world leaders have clearly done at the G20 is tie climate to prosperity."
"They know you need a healthy climate to have healthy people to drive a prosperous economy,” she added. "There's no point in growing the economy in a way that harms the climate, people and long term prosperity.”
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