G7 countries account for 15% of global coal use
(Sustainabilityenvironment.com) – There is an agreement on the farewell to coal among the members of the G7. This was announced by the Federal Minister for the Environment in Berlin, Steffi Lemke. “There are very specific agreements and statements on the expansion of renewable energy, but also, for example, on coal phase-out,” he said in an interview with the German broadcaster RTL/ntv. The most complicated knot of the summit between the 7 Ministers of Environment and Energy, which ends today, seems to have been resolved.
In the final communiqué of the 3-day diplomatic conference there will also be “a strong emphasis on climate protection, the protection of biological diversity and also a commitment against plastic pollution,” added Lemke. Among the other measures approved, the G7 countries have decided to bring the World Conservation Conference forward to this year so that the issue of protecting the oceans is also quickly addressed at the G7.
To understand exactly what the outlines of the agreement on the farewell to coal are, we will have to wait for the publication of the final communiqué of the G7, expected by today. Until two days ago, the draft used this language: “We pledge to phase out unabated domestic electricity production from coal and non-industrial heat production from coal by 2030“.
It will therefore be necessary to see if “very specific agreements and declarations” means that the date of 2030 has survived and if there has been no further loosening in the wording of the statement. In the first version, the reference to the “unabated” means that it will still be possible to build coal plants, provided that they are equipped with technologies for the recovery and storage of CO2.
In addition to coal, the G7 Climate and Energy Summit in Berlin should also formalizes to clean up the electricity mix. According to the draft final statement, the 7 countries would promise to “have net-zero electricity sectors by 2035”. And from next year they would also be obliged to report transparently on the progress in the cancellation of “inefficient” fossil subsidies. No anticipation from Lemke on the agreement reached on these points.