The G7 pledges to decarbonize the electricity sector by 2035

Group of Seven nations pledged on Friday, May 27, to “decarbonize” most of their electricity sector “by 2035” and to halt funding for fossil fuel-related projects this year.

“We commit to achieving a carbon-neutral electricity sector by 2035 (…) and supporting the acceleration of the global phase-out of coal,” said a joint statement after a meeting of climate and energy ministers in Berlin, Germany.

To achieve this goal, the group of countries promised to “end direct public support for projects without dilution in the fossil energy sector,” the ministers said.

“Non-mitigating” refers to projects that do not use any technology to offset pollution from carbon dioxide emissions.

This is the first time that the group made up of the United States, Japan, Canada, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany – the seven industrial powers – has committed to a goal in this sense.

Ending support for international projects that use fossil fuels was one of the decisions adopted by 20 countries at the COP26 climate conference held in Glasgow last year.

At the time, all G7 countries except Japan made this commitment.

“It is good that Japan, the world’s leading financier of fossil fuels, is joining the other G7 countries,” Alden Meyer, an expert at the European think tank E3G, told AFP.

The agreement comes as Europe searches for new sources to move its economy away from dependence on Russian oil and gas.

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The seven countries also acknowledged their responsibility to support weak countries in their fight against the effects of climate change, for which they promised to increase economic aid to developing countries by 2025.

Other points of the agreement relate to strengthening cooperation in the field of green hydrogen and inviting development banks to hand over their plans in time for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27) to be held in Egypt this year, according to the German series. DW.

German Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck said the deal sends a “strong signal” about the urgency of climate protection.

However, in this club there are no countries like India, China or Russia, which are among the world’s major polluters and major consumers of fossil fuels.

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