The energy, climate and environment ministers of the industrialized nations of the G7 committed themselves this Sunday, April 16 to “acceleration” they ” exit “ Fossil fuels in all sectors, but without setting a new deadline.
This new goal, announced in a joint statement at the conclusion of the G7 ministerial meeting on climate held since Saturday in Sapporo (northern Japan), is not about fossil fuels with carbon dioxide capture and storage devices.
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The G7 countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Canada) are limited to emphasizing that this goal is part of their efforts to achieve carbon neutrality in energy by 2050. “at the latest”.
Last year, the Group of Seven already committed to decarbonising the electricity sector for the most part by 2035, a target reaffirmed on Sunday.
In a sign of their difficult negotiations, the G7 has been unable to commit to a precise date for phasing out coal for electricity generation, while the United Kingdom, backed by France, has proposed a deadline of 2030.
“Strong progress,” according to the French minister
However, the decision to exit all fossil fuels represents a ‘strong progress’in response to Agence France-Presse, the transitional French Energy Minister, Agnes Pannier-Ronacher.
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“It’s an important point of support for the ability to expand this approach.” At the G20 in India and at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai at the end of the year“, at its discretion, recognizing that these future global negotiations”will not be clear.
The club of major industrialized nations has had to show unity and volunteerism after the recent troubling briefing of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in March.
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According to the IPCC, human-caused global warming will reach 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era from the years 2030-2035. This jeopardizes the 2015 Paris agreement’s goal of limiting temperature rises to this level, or at least well below 2 degrees Celsius.
The Group of Seven major industrialized nations also confirmed this Sunday its commitment to work with other developed countries to raise $100 billion annually for emerging countries against global warming, a promise dating back to 2009 that initially had to be fulfilled from 2020.
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A summit to improve access to climate finance for developing countries, a critical point for the success of COP 28, is scheduled for the end of June in Paris.
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Because of the highly tense global geopolitical context with the war in Ukraine since last year, and conservative proposals from Japan, which notably wanted the Group of Seven industrialized nations to ratify upstream gas investments, environmental NGOs feared that the Sapporo meeting would not lead to a rollback of commitments on the climate.
In a similar tone last year, the Group of Seven in its statement acknowledged that investments in natural gas “could be appropriate” To help certain countries avoid possible energy shortages related to the war in Ukraine.
But at the same time, the Group of Seven stressed the priority of the energy transition ” clean “ And the need to reduce the demand for gas.
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Solar energy, green hydrogen… They are inventing the renewable energies of tomorrow
Japan’s other proposal to recognize ammonia and hydrogen as a common fuel “Cleaning” For thermal power plants it was also surrounded by balustrades. These technologies must be developed from sources “low carbon and renewable”insist on G7.
With regard to the environment, the countries of the group have made a special commitment to reduce their plastic pollution to zero by 2040, thanks in particular to the circular economy, and the reduction or abandonment of disposable and non-recyclable plastics.
It’s a goal ” ambitious “German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke welcomed this during a press conference.
