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The G7 countries have vowed to stop all new financing for overseas coal projects before the end of this year. This is a breakthrough in global efforts to combat climate change.
On Friday, the environment ministers of the Group of Seven, including John Kerry of the Biden administration and Alok Sharma of the United Kingdom, stated in a communiqué: “International investment in unabated coal must be stopped immediately.” They promised. “Concrete steps” will be taken to end the government’s new direct support for international thermal coal power generation, and we have not made any efforts in international thermal coal power generation.
The strongly worded statement sets the stage for more climate commitments for the G7 meeting in Cornwall next month, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden.
Sharma, chairman of the COP26 climate summit, said: “This commitment sends a clear signal to the world that coal is dying.” “We all agree to accelerate the transition from dirty coal production capacity.”
Coal mining has Under pressure The International Energy Agency says that if the world is to reduce emissions, there will be no need for new coal mines this week. Achieve net zero by 2050.
The G7 countries also pledged to “speed up their efforts” to limit global warming to 1.5C relative to the pre-industrial period. This is a major shift from previous statements that have focused on limiting the temperature to 2C (which is a slightly easier goal).
“This is the first time we have made a public statement about 1.5C,” said Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy, who urged the world’s major economies to follow suit.
The 2015 Paris Agreement constrained all signatories to limit warming to a level “far below” 2C, and stated that 1.5C (considered as an extended target) would be better.
“This is a watershed… There is a huge difference between 1.5C and 2C,” said Alden Meyer, senior partner of think tank E3G.
However, the ministers failed to reach any specific agreement on climate-related assistance to developing countries, which is becoming one of the most difficult issues at the UN COP26 summit in November. They reiterated the goal of mobilizing US$100 billion per year by 2025, but this goal has not yet been achieved, but they did not outline plans to help developing countries provide financial assistance beyond 2025.
Some people worry that if Japan does not support this commitment, the G7 may not be able to make a clear commitment to terminate international coal financing, because it is considered the least willing due to its dependence on coal.
Kerry pointed out on Friday: “The work we have done with Japan, and Japan’s important steps and efforts to seek unity on the way forward.”
This has increased the pressure on China as a major coal consumer. Only days after the IEA’s landmark report was released, the communiqué called for the end of all new coal, oil and gas exploration, and the communique was also released.
Kerry said the organization “very deeply” believes in the importance of the IEA report.
Ministers stated that, except for certain limited circumstances, they will phase out new financing for international fossil fuel energy projects. But they pointed out that natural gas may be needed “within a certain time frame” to help transition to cleaner fuels.
Rebecca Newsom, the political leader of Greenpeace in the United Kingdom, said that actions on fossil fuels “need to go further and end all new domestic coal, oil and gas projects and their international financing. “.
She added that the commitment to terminate overseas coal funding “enables China to isolate itself from the world on a global scale by virtue of its continued international financing of fossil fuels, the most polluting ones”.
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