The battle for climate change has become Trump-v-the world, with G20 leaders locking arms, with promises to spend trillions on their commitments to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

When it comes to climate change, the battle has become Donald Trump versus the world, with G20 leaders locking arms and their taxpayers’ hip pockets with promises to spend trillions on their commitments to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Showing his support for the goal, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government’s coal and gas policies are not up for change. This puts him at odds with his new buddy in the White House, who actually boycotted the G20 summit in Johannesburg that saw the leaders of the top 20 most wealthy economies also sign up for free trade and multilateral frameworks, which are other non-Trump-endorsed policies.

In case you missed it, the US President refused to attend the conference because of claims that the South African government was persecuting white farmers. This is disputed by South African leaders.

Here are the main points that were agreed to at the G20 get together:
1. 600 million Africans without electricity need help from wealthier nations to help lower their emissions.
2. To achieve that, US$5.8-5.9 trillion would need to be spent by G20 nations.
3. Low cost financing will be sourced to make the above happen ASAP.
4. China, Russia and India vowed to “intensify our efforts” to reach “carbon neutrality by or around mid-century”, though The Australian reports that while the leaders of China, Russia and Argentina didn’t attend, they had representatives attending.
5. A goal was set to triple the world’s renewable energy generation by 2030.
The Prime Minister has told reporters that his support for what other leaders agreed to was not a protest vote against President Trump. He saw it as purely a decision to be on the same page as the 19 other countries who signed the G20 agreement. However, it could also be based on his understanding of what we want as a sovereign state, given his big election win, which he would argue was an endorsement of our view on wanting to tackle climate change.

In other moves in Johannesburg, the PM had “meetings with the EU and India to progress free-trade deals, while striking a trilateral technology and innovation partnership with India and Canada,” The Australian’s David Ross reported.

He suggested there was an anti-Trump tone to the rhetoric at the conference. Significantly, he also reminded us that the next G20 meeting in 2026 will be held in Trump territory — the Trump Doral Golf course at Miami, Florida!