Greenpeace urges G19 including Saudi Arabia to go above and beyond the Paris climate deal

Dubai, UAE, July 8, 2017:   As G20 leaders arrive in Hamburg for a two-day summit where climate change will be high on the agenda, Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan made the following statement: 

“Trump’s decision to renege on the Paris agreement has made a strong joint G20-declaration on climate impossible. Merkel, as the G20 host, must not sacrifice ambition for unity. Instead, we need a G19 commitment to climate action that demonstrates the intent to implement and even go beyond what 195 nations agreed to in Paris. 

“The G19 has the responsibility to signal to the world the need for greater ambition. This is the moment for the G19 to show solidarity with people from around the world, and to demonstrate that the transformation to the zero carbon economy is as irreversible as the Paris agreement.” 

Greenpeace Arab World Programme Leader Ghalia Fayad added:

“As the sole Arab country in the G20, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the responsibility to defend the interest of all Arab nations in the fight against climate change.” 

“Last year in Marrakesh, Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its commitment to the Paris agreement when president Trump got elected. Today, for the sake of the climate vulnerable Arab region, we urge the Kingdom to stand up again for the Paris climate deal in solidarity with other G19 coutries and even raise its climate action ambition.”

Ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Greenpeace Germany release a study showing that wind energy and solar power will be the cheapest form of power generation in every G20 country by the year 2030 at the latest, including the oil rich Saudi Arabia. More details about the report can be found here.