SAPPORO, JAPAN (AP) – Energy and environment ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations vowed yesterday to work to hasten the shift toward cleaner, renewable energy, but set no timetable for phasing out coal-fired power plants as they wrapped up two days of talks in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo.
The officials issued a 36-page communique laying out their commitments ahead of a G7 summit in Hiroshima in May.
Japan won endorsements from fellow G7 countries for its own national strategy emphasising so-called clean coal, hydrogen and nuclear energy to help ensure its energy security.
“Recognising the current global energy crisis and economic disruptions, we reaffirm our commitment to accelerating the clean energy transition to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 at the latest,” the communique said.
The leaders reiterated the need to urgently reduce carbon emissions and achieve a “predominantly decarbonised power sector” by 2035.
“We call on and will work with other countries to end new unabated coal-fired power generation projects globally as soon as possible to accelerate the clean energy transition in a just manner,” the document said. The stipulation that countries rely on “predominantly” clean energy by 2035 leaves room for continuation of fossil-fuel fired power.
But the ministers agreed to prioritise steps toward phasing out “unabated” coal power generation – plants that do not employ mechanisms to capture emissions and prevent them from escaping into the atmosphere.
United States (US) Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said the meetings were “really constructive”.
“I think the unity for the goal that was expressed of phasing out unabated fossil fuels is a very important statement,” Kerry told The Associated Press.
The call to action comes as China and other developing countries step up demands for more help in phasing out fossil fuels and stabilising energy prices and supplies amid disruptions from the war in Ukraine.
The issue of setting a timeline for phasing out coal-fired power plants is a longstanding sticking point. Japan relies on coal for nearly one-third of its power generation and is also promoting the use of so-called clean coal, using technology to capture carbon emissions, to produce hydrogen – which produces only water when used as fuel.
The G7 nations account for 40 per cent 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 US alone accounts for about a quarter of historic global carbon emissions – while 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 also attended the talks in Sapporo, issued a statement urging G7 nations to increase financial support for developing countries’ transitions to clean energy. Sultan Al Jaber urged fellow leaders to help deliver a “new deal” on climate finance to boost efforts to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, especially in developing nations.
“We must make a fairer deal for the Global South,” he said. “Not enough is getting to the people and places that need it most.”
He said developed countries must follow through on a USD100 billion pledge they made at the 2009 COP15 meeting. The next talks are to be held in Dubai in late November.
The document crafted in Sapporo included significant amounts of nuance to allow for differences between the G7 energy strategies, climate advocates said.
“They put out bold language on the urgency of addressing the climate crisis but the real test is what are they saying to the rest of the world about their commitments to scale up ambitions,” senior associate at E3G, a climate change think tank, Alden Meyer said in a Twitter spaces session just after the communique was released.
But while other G7 countries prevented Japan from expanding loopholes to allow wider use of fossil fuels, the commitments “fall short of the clarion call to action that was needed”, Meyer said.
