G7 Ministers Pledge to Accelerate Fossil Fuel Abandonment
The energy and environment ministers of the G7 countries have pledged to accelerate the abandonment of fossil fuels. The ministers made the pledge in Japan last Sunday, but they did not agree to a new timetable for its application.
The G7 allies have deep disagreements on how to implement the elimination of the use of polluting energies. They plan to discuss this issue in May at the next meeting of the group in Hiroshima.
According to Akihiro Nishimura, Japan’s environment minister, “We agreed to take action to end plastic pollution by 2040. All parties were also asked to commit to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, with global emissions peaking in 2025.”
The French Minister for Energy Transition, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, said that the “phasing out” text was a “big step forward” for the G20 and COP28 summits.
In the joint statement, the G7 ministers stressed the need to reduce gas demand, directly referring to Russia. This pledge to abandon fossil fuels is critical to the global fight against climate change. It is a step forward for the G7 group, but it still needs to be followed by concrete actions.
