G20 Countries and Sustainable Development: Do They Live up to Their Promises on CO2 Emissions?

The aim of this study was to analyze and measure idiosyncratic differences in CO2 emission trends over time and between the different geographical contexts of the G20 signatory countries and to assess whether these countries are fulfilling their carbon emission reduction commitments, as stipulated in the G20 sustainable development agendas. To this end, a multilevel mixed-effects model was used, considering CO2 emissions data from 1950 to 2021 sourced from the World Bank. The research model captured approximately 93.05% of the joint variance in the data and showed (i) a positive relationship between the increase in CO2 emissions and the creation of the G20 [CI90: +0.0080; + 0.1317]; (ii) that every year, CO2 emissions into the atmosphere are increased by an average of 0.0165 [CI95: +0.0009; +0.0321] billion tons by the G20 countries; (iii) that only Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have demonstrated a commitment to CO2 emissions reduction, showing a decreasing rate of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere; and (iv) that there seems to be a mismatch between the speed at which the G20 proposes climate policies and the speed at which these countries emit CO2.