What We're Watching: G-20 split on climate

What We're Watching: G-20 split on climate

G-20 members split on climate ahead of COP26: Just before the COP26 climate summit kicks off in Glasgow on October 31, the leaders of the world's top 20 economies will meet in Rome to discuss climate change, soaring energy prices, and post-pandemic recovery. But the G-20 remains divided between Western countries – like the US and the EU – demanding firm commitments from all member countries on cutting carbon dioxide emissions, and top polluters like China, India, and Russia who say that ask is unreasonable given that many Western nations have benefited from fossil fuel use for decades. Of these three outspoken nations, only India's PM Narendra Modi will travel to Rome, which makes it unlikely that any meaningful progress will be made ahead of the landmark summit in the UK. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is in a tough spot: ahead of a trip to Europe this week, he was hoping to have secured billions of dollars in new climate funding from Congress, but his ambitious plans remain stuck due to divisions within his own party. More broadly, if no consensus is reached in Rome, it'll raise the stakes even more for Glasgow — and the planet can't wait any longer for politicians to make up their minds.

More from GZERO Media

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) speaks to media during the weekly House Republican Leadership press conference, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
(Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)

The House of Representatives narrowly approved a Republican-led budget resolution on Tuesday with a 217-215 vote, mostly along party lines.

The White House announces significant changes to the White House press pool on Feb. 25, 2025.

Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Reuters

The White House said Tuesday that it will take control of choosing the journalists allowed to participate in the White House press pool – a rotating group of journalists given access to briefings and the ability to ask the president questions — tightening the administration’s control over the press.

A member of German army Bundeswehr exercises during a presentation to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius during his visit to the airborne brigade of German army Bundeswehr in Saarlouis, Germany, September 17, 2024
REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen

Replacing hundreds of thousands of US troops and other defense equipment would be a huge fiscal challenge for the EU.

A cayuco arriving at the port of La Restinga, on August 18, 2024, in El Hierro, Canary Islands (Spain).
Photo by Antonio Sempere / Europa

2: In July 2021, a homophobic mob beat a gay man to death outside a nightclub in A Coruña, a port city in Spain’s northwest, as passersby refused to intervene while some filmed the attack on their phones.

Demonstrators protest against U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk outside the U.S. Capitol as Republicans prepare to vote on Trump's tax-cut agenda, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 25, 2025.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

On Tuesday, 21 engineers, data scientists, product managers, and designers resigned from DOGE in protest of the department’s efforts to “dismantle critical public services.”

In this new episode of Tools and Weapons, Microsoft's Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with Jeffrey Ding, professor at George Washington University and author of "Technology and the Rise of Great Powers." Ding challenges conventional wisdom on how nations achieve global dominance, arguing that the key isn’t just developing breakthrough technologies like AI but effectively integrating and scaling them. They explore what history teaches us about the role of innovation in shaping great powers — and what it will take for the US to remain one. Subscribe and find new episodes monthly, wherever you listen to podcasts.