Climate experts criticised the G7 group of advanced economies for failing to commit to tougher action on fossil fuels after Germany and Japan prevailed on the continued use of gas and coal respectively.In their final communique, the leaders of the G7, including the UK, US, France, Italy and Canada, said they were committed to achieving a “fully or predominantly” decarbonised power sector by 2035, and “accelerating” the phaseout of unabated coal power but failed to set a deadline for the latter.
Using the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting energy crisis, the G7 also stressed the “important role that increased deliveries of [liquefied natural gas] can play”. It also said that “publicly supported investment in the gas sector can be appropriate as a temporary response” to the crisis.
Alden Meyer, a senior associate at E3G, said Germany’s “insistence on more public investment in gas” and Japan’s “resistance to phasing out coal power” generation “undercut the G7’s leadership at a time when it is desperately needed”.