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G7 meeting: climate at the heart of discussions this weekend in Japan

2023-04-13T06:05:55.410Z


A meeting of the environment and energy ministers of the G7 countries is scheduled for this weekend in Japan. Their differences on the pace of release...


A meeting of the environment and energy ministers of the G7 countries is scheduled for this weekend in Japan.

Their differences on the pace of exit from fossil fuels, however, reduce their chances of adopting strong measures in the face of the climate emergency.

A draft dated April 5 of the joint communiqué expected on Sunday April 16 and to which AFP had access reveals in particular deep divisions as to the timetable for the exit of coal from the G7 countries in the electricity sector.

The UK, backed by France, has proposed a phase-out of coal for electricity as early as 2030. But instead, a reiteration of the more vague goal formulated at the G7 in Germany last year to achieve a electricity sector that is mostly decarbonized by 2035 could be essential.

Debates are also raging over Japan's proposal to justify major new gas investments in the name of "

energy security

", against a backdrop of upheaval caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine since last year.

A “toxic” Japanese strategy

Already in 2022, the G7 had decided to tolerate gas investments as a “

temporary

” response to the “

exceptional circumstances

” linked to the war in Ukraine.

Japan is also trying to gain recognition at G7 level for its highly controversial strategy of using hydrogen and ammonia as co-fuels for its gas and coal-fired power stations, a concept which it also intends to export to across Asia.

This “ toxic

” Japanese strategy

risks “

derailing

” the energy transition in Asia, warns Makiko Arima of the NGO Oil Change International.

Its “ green transformation

” plan

, dubbed “

GX

”, really only serves to promote technologies aimed at “

extending the use of fossil fuels

”, she denounces.

Other NGOs also fear that this ministerial meeting organized on Saturday and Sunday in Sapporo (northern Japan) will lead to a step backwards in terms of climate commitments.

Climate emergency

If we start with a G7 which may even act as a regression, that would be terrible

” and that would send “

bad signals

” to the rest of the world before the G20 summit in India and COP 28 in Dubai at the end of the year. , worries Friederike Röder, vice-president of the NGO Global Citizen.

"

If you say your house is burning, the planet is on fire...but you're not doing much at home to counter powerful special interests...you're not going to send a very inspiring signal to the rest of the world

”, adds Alden Meyer, of the think tank on the climate E3G.

However, the climate emergency is there: global warming caused by human activity will reach 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era from the years 2030-2035, warned the intergovernmental group of experts on climate change. evolution (IPCC) in its new summary report published last month.

IPCC Chairman Hoesung Lee lamented the lack of "

strong political will

" to tackle climate change "

for now

", as the 2015 Paris agreement, backed by all G7 members, aims precisely to limit the increase in temperature to 1.5°C.

Read alsoThe Twenty-Seven adopt the European climate plan

“Strong pressure from Europeans”

"

There is no question that the G7 will send a message on the revival of fossil fuels, either one way or another

", assures AFP a government source at the heart of the negotiations.

There is strong pressure from Europeans who are the most ambitious on the climate front, there is Japanese resistance, discreetly supported by the United States and Canada

,” according to the same source.

But the Europeans are not always on the same wavelength either, Germany and Italy being particularly confronted with the energy crisis since the war in Ukraine.

However, all the members of the G7 are already in agreement in calling on the countries of the whole world to act "

collectively

" in this "

critical decade

", in particular to allow the start of a reduction in global emissions of greenhouse gases "

by by 2025 at the latest

”, according to an already validated part of the joint press release scheduled for Sunday.

A message mainly addressed implicitly to China, according to experts.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-04-13

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