Mexico, Argentina top G20 low-carbon shift -study

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Mexico and Argentina are leading a shift to make the global economy more climate friendly, according to an index of "carbon competitiveness", the London-based thinktank E3G said on Sunday.

G20 leaders meet at a summit on Sept 24-25 in Pittsburgh to help steer the global economy out of recession, and will also discuss ways to finance the fight against climate change.

Long-term policies to limit climate change are widely expected to force nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions, favouring leaner, more efficient economies run on renewable and other low-carbon energy supplies.

"Countries that adapt quickly to a carbon-constrained world will be better able to deliver lasting prosperity for their citizens," said the E3G report, "G20 Low Carbon Competitiveness".

"There is a growing global consensus that our best path toward strong economic recovery is through transitioning to a less vulnerable, low carbon economy," said Nick Mabey, E3G chief executive.

E3G measured national wealth per unit of carbon emissions to find out which countries would be most competitive under carbon limits.

France, Japan and Britain ranked top among the G20 nations, according to E3G's "carbon competitiveness index" -- reflecting France's dependence on low-carbon nuclear power, Britain's on low-carbon gas, and Japan's energy efficiency and nuclear power.

But only Mexico and Argentina were improving their output per unit of carbon in line with national emissions trajectories which would avoid dangerous climate change -- while China came top of all the other G20 under-performers -- the report found.

The required trends in carbon emissions were taken from calculations by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), E3G said.

Analysts say global recovery spending can link to the fight against climate change, through the creation of "green collar" jobs. For example an ailing autos industry is now restructuring to supply more energy efficient and electric cars.

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