Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries reached an agreement on May 27, declaring for the first time that they would phase out coal burning, and said that energy shortages caused by the Russo-Ukrainian war should not affect efforts to combat climate change. Although environmental advocates were disappointed that they did not set a specific timetable for phasing out coal burning, the commitment also marked a significant shift in Japan's position.
“We also further commit to achieving the goal of significantly decarbonizing the electricity sector by 2035 … and taking concrete and timely actions to achieve the ultimate phase-out of unabated domestic coal-fired power generation,” the G7 statement said.
Reportedly, the 2030 target was removed from the final statement due to opposition from the US and Japan.
The statement issued at the end of a three-day meeting of G7 climate, energy and environment ministers in Berlin, Germany, was weaker than an earlier draft that included a specific target to end unabated coal-fired power generation by 2030.
Both Japan and the United States have said they cannot support that timeline, the people said.
Still, it is the first time the G7 has pledged to phase out coal-fired power generation, the fossil fuel responsible for the most carbon dioxide emissions, and whose use must fall sharply if the world is to avoid the worst damage from climate change.
Environmental campaigners hailed the pledge as a victory for climate protection.
G7 pledges to end fossil fuel financing amid Russia-Ukraine war
"The G7's commitment to end public financing of fossil fuels and transition to clean energy is a huge victory," said Laurie van der Burg of the pressure group Oil Change International, calling on the G7 to immediately deliver on its promise to withdraw $33 billion (about NT$967 billion) in fossil fuel financing each year.
The G7 meeting comes against a backdrop of soaring energy costs and tight fuel supplies due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The conflict has prompted some countries to scramble to buy more fossil fuels from sources other than Russia and burn coal to reduce their dependence on Russian energy.
"Over the past weeks and months, alternatives to Russian fossil fuels have been at the heart of political debate and government action," German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told a news conference.
"But we must understand that if we focus only on the present, our generation will face even more political challenges in limiting global warming... Time is truly running out."
Committed to substantial decarbonization of the electricity sector by 2035 and high decarbonization of road transport by 2030
The G7 also agreed to substantially decarbonize the electricity sector by 2035 and to end public financing of "unabated" fossil fuel projects overseas by the end of this year, with limited exceptions. "Unabated" refers to power plants that don't use carbon capture and storage technology to reduce emissions.
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/234226)
