“This G20 was meant to point the way towards a future without fossil fuels,” said Friederike Roeder, vice president of global advocacy at Global Citizen, an NGO.
Failure to agree targets on fossil fuels is “a terrible signal to the world, especially to the poorest and most vulnerable countries and populations who suffer the most from climate change”, he said.
Still, the group’s support for a goal of tripling renewable energy capacity – which includes leading economies including China, the United States and Brazil – was welcomed by some.
Promoting renewable energy is seen as key to facilitating the shift away from more polluting sources of energy, and Aditya Lola, head of the Asia program at energy think tank Amber, called the G20 move a “game-changer.”
“Such a step by Saudi Arabia and Russia to support renewable energy is very welcome,” he said.
“This is a game-changer for climate action.”