Indian business giants urge G20 to reach ambitious agreement on climate

G-20 nations continue to provide significant annual public funds to support fossil fuels.

The appeal was made through an open letter, coordinated by The Climate Group and the We Mean Business Coalition.

Companies that have endorsed the letter include Chalet Hotels, Infosys, Ultratech, JSW Group, Zomato, Citylink, Godrej and Boyce, Tech Mahindra, Godrej Industries, Wipro, ReNew, Sun Renewables, Heineken and IKEA India.

Ahead of the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi, businesses have underscored the pressing requirement for worldwide collaboration against escalating climate change.

The letter emphasises the necessity for government action and long-term policy clarity, enabling companies to boldly commit to comprehensive climate action.

Climate Group India’s executive director Divya Sharma said: “As the impacts of climate change are increasingly being felt, it’s encouraging to see some of the world’s biggest businesses calling on the G20 leaders to ensure that this G20 truly becomes a turning point for climate action.”

Recommendations and asks

Under India’s G20 leadership, the letter urges the G20 to drive a change aligned with the Paris Agreement and responsive to the Global South’s requirements.

The letter proposes several government recommendations, including phasing out unfettered fossil fuels aligned with 1.5°C targets, achieving power grid decarbonisation by 2035 in advanced economies and 2040 in emerging nations, and creating clear plans for hard-to-decarbonise sectors like steel and concrete.

The businesses also urge for accelerated electric vehicle (EV) deployment across segments and equitable access to climate finance for the Global South including the delivery of the overdue $100bn per year climate finance goal.

They further advocate for transparent carbon pricing and repurposing of fossil fuel subsidies by 2025.

The Climate Group anticipates the results of India’s G20 presidency to influence the tone for the upcoming UN Climate Conference, COP28, in Dubai this November. Unfortunately, a recent energy ministers’ meeting did not result in any strong new agreements on the energy transition.

The We Mean Business Coalition’s chief executive officer Maria Mendiluce said: “With bold business and political leadership, we can scale clean energy and end our reliance on fossil fuels.”

In a recent announcement, the Indian Government announced a new “green hydrogen” standard, while unveiling a $7bn electric bus scheme to reduce transport emissions ahead of its G20 presidency.