Update from the G20 Leaders’ Summit
The G20 Leaders’ Summit in Hangzhou, China, wrapped up over the weekend. During the Summit, heads of state and the President of the European Union adopted the G20 Leaders’ Communique, which addresses issues of sustainable economic growth, climate change, and migration.
Within the Communique, global leaders committed to enhancing collaborative and nationally-led efforts to support energy access, green financing, and enabling policies that are particularly beneficial to entrepreneurs and small and medium sized enterprises, including those led by women. Additionally, the Communique endorsing the G20 Voluntary Collaboration Action Plan on Energy Access, which calls for elevated efforts to address the widespread reliance on inefficient cooking methods for daily energy and nutritional needs.
Leading up to the G20 Leader’s Summit, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (Alliance) provided input into the intergovernmental process, sharing research findings and lessons learned from past and current clean cooking interventions. The inclusion of clean cooking in the Sustainable Development Goals and the increased understanding that scaling up clean cooking is essential to reaching global climate goals mirrors the trend of greater, high-level prioritization of the issue. Access to safe and sustainable energy, including cooking technologies and fuels, is also fundamental to addressing the needs of the 65 million refugees around the world, an issue that was discussed at the G20 and a focus of the opening of the United National General Assembly later this month.
The Alliance will continue to advocate for clean cooking as a means of achieving global development and climate goals, as well as the high-level priorities of the G20. The next host of the G20 is Germany. Sessions specifically focused on energy access and sustainability will start up again before the end of the year. While the adoption of the G20 Leaders’ Communique signifies progress, energy access and sustainable development strategies must continue to accurately reflect the world’s energy challenges, particularly at a household level, and effectively integrate clean cooking into approaches that will guide future implementation.