G7 Ministers commit to move to carbon-free power by 2035

G7 Ministers commit to move to carbon-free power by 2035

Subject : Environment

Section: Climate change

Context: A proposal to have a 2030 deadline for phasing out coal was shot down and the final text gives leeway for continued investment in gas, on the grounds that it could be a stopgap against energy shortfalls.

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• Climate and Energy Ministers and envoys from Group of Seven (G7) countries committed to work towards ensuring carbon-free electricity production by 2035 and “accelerating” the phase-out of coal. This was part of an agreement by the countries at the end of a two-day conference in Sapporo, Japan, ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima this May.
• A proposal to have a 2030 deadline for phasing out coal was shot down and the final text gives leeway for continued investment in gas, on the grounds that it could be a stopgap against energy shortfalls, Reuters reported.
• At the United Nations-Conference of Parties (COP) meeting in Glasgow in 2021, India had objected to language in the agreement to “phase out” and pushed instead for a “phase down” of coal.
• At the COP meeting in Sharm el Sheikh last year, India pushed for a proposal to phase out all fossil fuel sources, including coal and gas. India and China are significantly dependent on coal for electricity, whereas several developed countries, including the United States, Japan, Canada and Europe are reliant on gas reserves. The latter however didn’t find mention in the final text of the Sharm el Sheikh agreement.
• The G7 nations account for 40% of the world’s economic activity and a quarter of global carbon emissions. Their actions are critical, but so is their support for less wealthy nations often suffering the worst effects of climate change while having the fewest resources for mitigating such impacts.
• Emissions in advanced economies are falling, though historically they have been higher — the United States alone accounts for about a quarter of historic global carbon emissions — while emerging markets and developing economies now account for more than two-thirds of global carbon emissions
• The president-designate for the next United Nations climate talks, the COP28, who was also attending the talks in Sapporo, issued a statement urging G7 nations to increase financial support for developing countries’ transitions to clean energy.