Journalists sit in the media center during the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 22, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed YosriRIYADH: Finance officials from the world's 20 biggest economies on Sunday agreed the wording of a final communique that includes a reference to climate change for the first time in US President Donald Trump's administration, G20 diplomatic sources said.
Delegates worked out a compromise after Washington objected to the initial proposed language, which had included"macroeconomic risk related to environmental stability" in a list of downside risks to global growth, two G20 diplomatic sources said. Concerns about the economic impact of climate change have escalated in recent years and pressure is mounting on business to accelerate the shift to a low-carbon economy ahead of United Nations climate talks in November.