The lack of specific commitments in the G20 climate statement is disappointing and the arduous task will be left to the COP26 summit.

The summit of leaders of the Group of 20 leading nations ended on Sunday in Rome, Italy. In the summit communiqu é issued on the same day, the G20 countries called for "meaningful and effective" action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, the communique has made few specific commitments, far below the expectations of some countries, which means that there is almost nothing that leaders can bring to the COP26 summit that follows, thus overshadowing the prospects of the summit, which concerns the fate of all mankind.

The wording of the communiqu é is similar to the commitments made in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Leaders say they remain committed to achieving the Paris agreement's goal of limiting the average global warming to 2 degrees Celsius before industrialization and trying to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

"We recognize that the impact of climate change within 1.5 degrees Celsius is much lower than that of 2 degrees Celsius. Keeping the climate change target of 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach will require meaningful and effective action and commitment by all countries. " The communique said.

However, there is little mention of any specific action in the communique, except that the goal of net zero carbon emissions will be achieved by the middle of the century, without a specific date. It is worth noting that the 2050 deadline proposed in the final statement of the previous version was also deleted from the wording, making the target less specific.

In addition, the G-20 also promised to stop financing overseas coal-fired power projects. According to the communique, international public funds will be used to invest in new foreign coal power projects that do not use carbon capture technology by the end of 2021.

For domestic coal, the announcement made only broad commitments, did not set a timetable for coal phase-out, and watered down the language promising to reduce emissions of another potent greenhouse gas, Jiawan.

The task of COP26 climate summit is arduous.

During the negotiations over the past week, G20 leaders have been at odds over goals and timetables for tackling climate change. The results they got after days of difficult negotiations left a daunting task for this week's UN COP26 climate summit.

Some environmentalists have criticized the communiqu é, which lacks a concrete commitment to action, saying that the G20 has not done enough to resolve the crisis and lacks ambition and foresight.

"if Gmuri 20 is a rehearsal for COP26, then the actions of world leaders are weak," said Jennifer Morgan, director-general of Greenpeace International. "the communique lacks strength, ambition and vision, and does not meet current needs at all."

"this is a time when the G20 has a responsibility to act as the largest emitter of carbon, but we only see half-baked measures rather than concrete urgent actions," said Friederike Roder, vice president of Global Citizens, a sustainable development advocacy group.

While endorsing the G20's efforts to solve global problems, UN Secretary General Guterres said he "left Rome with disappointment". He has gone to Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit, which opens on Sunday.

There is no doubt that the disappointing G20 climate statement cast a shadow over the COP26 summit. The COP26 summit is the first climate conference since the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which will be attended by many G20 leaders. It is widely believed that the statement of the G20 summit on climate issues will set the tone for the Glasgow climate conference.