Trudeau says climate progress made at G20 — but Canada wanted more ambitious plan

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Canada wanted a stronger and more ambitious agreement on climate change to emerge from the G20 summit — but leaders still managed to make progress by committing to address some key issues, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday.

His remarks came as he wrapped up two days in Rome at the G20 leaders' summit, where the leaders' final communiqué saw them agree for the first time in writing that limiting the increase in average global temperatures to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels would be better for everyone.

But the document also watered down numerous parts of a previous draft version, including replacing specific deadlines to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and eliminate coal power by the end of the 2030s, with net zero by "mid century" and eliminating coal power "as soon as possible."

Language promising to reduce methane emissions was changed only to recognize that curbing methane is a cost-effective and relatively easy way to reduce emissions.

"There's no question that Canada and a number of other countries would have liked stronger language and stronger commitments on the fight against climate change than others," Trudeau said at his closing news conference.

"But we did make significant progress on recognizing 1.5 degrees is the ambition we need to share."

A quarter of the G20 leaders skipped the weekend's events, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Trudeau suggested that affected the language on coal and net zero emissions.

"These are the kinds of things that Canada's going to continue to push for, alongside all our colleagues," Trudeau said. "Not everyone around the table was there today and we're a group that works on consensus as much as possible.

"But we're going to continue fighting for a better future for all."

China, which is in absolute terms the world's biggest emitter, is still very dependent on coal for electricity, as is India. Both have expressed an inability to reduce coal power at this point; China has also only set a goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2060, rather than 2050.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, the G20 summit host, made a last-ditch effort on Sunday to urge the leaders of the world's biggest economies to accept the reality of the situation.

"We face a simple choice," he told leaders at the table. "We can act now or regret it later."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was more grim when asked about the results of the G20 summit.