The Group of Seven environment and energy ministers’ meeting ended on Sunday without any deadline for stopping new coal investments, or the types of firm commitments climate activists have claimed are needed to limit global warming.
The Group of Seven Ministers, in their official communique, pledged to clean up emissions from power production and reduce vehicle emissions by the year 2035. However, they left the door open to new investments in natural gas as well as the continued use of fossil fuels.
Alden Meyer, senior associate with consultant E3G, said that the tweets conversation was not a clear call to action. He added that the group’s global authority is undermined “everytime they allow carve outs on issues such as international fossil fuel financing.”
The Group of 20 countries, including Dubai’s COP28 UN Climate Summit in November, will be holding negotiations on energy and climate at the UN climate conference.
The new statement seemed to weaken at least one
The group stated that “investment in gas can help to address potential market shortages” as long as it’s “implemented in accordance with our climate goals and without creating locking-in effects.”
Agnes Pannier Runacher, French Energy Minister, suggested that the new language is more restrictive than originally proposed. She said that it “implicitly” meant we could not invest in the exploration and development of new gas capacities. The final language was intended to appease Japan which hosted the meeting. Germany’s Deputy Minister of Energy Patrick Graichen described the group’s stance as “carefully balanced.”
Some results were encouraging. The group stated that it intended to increase solar capacity by more than 1,000 Gigawatts, and offshore wind generation by 150 Gigawatts among its members before the end of this decade. The Nikkei published on Saturday that those figures would triple the solar power, and increase offshore wind generation seven-fold.
Dave Jones, the head of data insight at Ember’s energy think tank Ember, said on Twitter Spaces that “the G-7 confirms that solar and winds are ready to take off.” These figures show “very clearly” that solar and wind are the most cost-effective and largest tools available to reduce carbon emissions in this decade.
Pannier-Runacher said Saturday that the most important outcome of this year’s talks was a deal to accelerate the phase out of fossil fuels. She said that the group was unable to reach an agreement by a certain date on coal.
The communique made it clear that technologies such as co-firing hydrogen and ammonia should only be used in sectors where there are no other ways to reduce emissions, according to E3G’s Meyer. He said that the language rejects Japan’s efforts to promote these technologies as a means to clean up the emissions from thermal plants.
The group acknowledged the opportunity to collectively reduce vehicle emissions by at least 50% before 2035, without making any promises to do so. Several countries have stated that all new passenger vehicles should be electric by 2035.
The G-7 summit, which will be hosted by the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishhida in Hiroshima in a month’s time, is an annual event.
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