Hopes of G20 green deal on the wane

Fears are mounting that environmental issues could be almost entirely sidelined at tomorrow's G20 summit in London as leaders of the world's largest economies resist calls to make clear green commitments as part of the meeting's closing communiqué.

According to Guardian reports, UK officials are leading a last-ditch effort to have clear environmental commitments incorporated into the global economic recovery package that will back up politicians' repeated calls for a " green new deal".

Gordon Brown has said that the inclusion of a commitment on the environment would be one of the tests of the summit's success, but he admitted that the negotiations were likely to be tough.

The draft version of the communiqué leaked at the weekend made only a passing reference to climate change and it is thought some nations are resisting more detailed commitments to dedicate a proportion of the global stimulus package to green projects that they fear could provide an excuse for protectionist measures.

There is also reluctance to incorporate climate change commitments that could be seen to step on the toes of the UN's climate change negotiations, which are continuing this week at a separate conference in Bonn, Germany.

However, green groups warned that a failure to incorporate solid environmental commitments would represent a missed opportunity and undermine the credibility of political leaders such as Gordon Brown and Barack Obama, who have repeatedly made the case for a low-carbon-led recovery.

One of the government's own advisors, professor Robert Watson, chief scientific adviser for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also expressed concern that environmental issues were being sidelined, telling the Guardian that low-carbon investments deserved "a higher profile".

"Everybody seems to be focusing on short-term recovery and getting long-term regulation of the banks right," he said. "I haven't heard anything that suggests green recovery and climate change are a major part of the [G20] agenda."

According to a recent study from HSBC, about 15 per cent of the investment pledged as part of economic stimulus plans is focused on low-carbon sectors, but this falls short of the 20 per cent level recommended by the economist Nicholas Stern and has been widely dismissed by green groups as being insufficient.

In related news, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the international body behind widely adopted sustainability reporting rules, today argued that the G20 also had an opportunity to address climate change issues through plans to reform business reporting rules. It called for new reporting rules that required firms to provide greater disclosure on environmental, social and governance issues which would not only help to reduce the risk of future financial crises, but also provide firms with a clearer incentive to reduce their environmental impact.

"The financial crisis has increased the understanding that government must take leadership on global problems and there now appears to be the will to act, " said Ernst Ligteringen, GRI chief executive. "It has become clear that the current system of corporate reporting has failed us. A new model, one that better serves the needs of our economies, societies and the environment is urgently required."

Meanwhile, UN climate talks in Germany continued yesterday with the US negotiating team receiving a mixed reception to an opening address in which chief negotiator Todd Stern committed to a renewed engagement with the process under Barack Obama.

China's climate ambassador Yu Qingtai welcomed the move, arguing that the approach of the previous administration had "left a lot wanting".

He also said that China was willing to make a "due contribution" to curbing emissions, but warned that the country would not see its citizens "left in the dark" as a result of binding emission targets and was within its rights to continue to invest in coal power that allows its economy to grow.

However, the German environment minister was more critical of the US position, claiming that the Obama administration would have to agree to " significantly more ambitious targets" if its commitment to tackling climate change is to be taken seriously by the international community.