‘Window for action closing’

• Chinese, Russian leaders unlikely to be in Rome
• Modi to attend COP26
• Rich should pay for greater carbon footprint: study

Denmark, Costa Rica, the Marshall Islands and six other countries yesterday urged the world's biggest economies to hike their climate pledges, warning that their actions would set the tone for the upcoming COP26 summit in Scotland.

Extreme weather events and increasingly urgent calls from scientists to curb global warming are cranking up pressure on lawmakers who will meet in Glasgow later this month to discuss action to reduce their carbon emissions.

"The window for taking decisive climate action is rapidly closing," said the letter, seen by Reuters, which was sent to Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy, the current president of the G20 club of rich nations.

G20 leaders will gather in Italy on Oct. 30-31 for a summit. Climate change will be high on the agenda, with divisions deep over the rapid emissions reductions scientists say are needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The meeting in Rome will "set the tone" for COP26, which starts on Oct. 31, the letter said.

Consensus looks a long way off. Sources said on Wednesday that with days to go before the G20 meets, countries are still split over committing to phase out coal.

Meanwhile, a group of like-minded developing countries this week released a statement slamming developed countries for expecting poorer nations to commit to tougher emissions targets when rich countries have broken their own promises to cut CO2.

The group, which includes China, India and Saudi Arabia, also said richer nations had failed to deliver on promises of $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries battle climate change.

At least four G20 leaders are not expected to come to Rome, including China's Xi Jinping, at the helm of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, and Russia's Vladimir Putin, head of the largest energy producer.

One source said while such absences were "not a great political signal," they would not necessarily prevent progress.

However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the UN climate summit in Glasgow.

Neither Russia, China nor India have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, considered a vital goal in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.

The COP26 president, Britain's Alok Sharma, said in a speech this month the G20, which accounts for 80% of global emissions, would be "make, or break" for achieving success in Glasgow.