G-7 Agrees to Accelerate Phase-Out of Unabated Fossil Fuels

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(Bloomberg) — The Group of Seven nations agreed to accelerate the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels but fell short of sealing a deal on a timeline to exit coal, said French Energy Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher. 

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Pannier-Runacher spoke on the sidelines of a meeting of G-7 energy and environment ministers in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo that runs through Sunday. The ministers are negotiating a joint communique that outlines support from the world’s most advanced economies for the global energy transition.

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“For the first time ever, the G-7 says that we must accelerate the phasing out of all unabated fossil fuels,” Pannier-Runacher told reporters in Sapporo. “The G-7 also says that there should be no more new coal fired power plants.”

The G-7 have appointed themselves leaders in the global mission to decarbonize, and the communique sends an important political signal that sets the tone for energy and climate conversations the rest of the year. Still, the failure to agree on a timeline to exit coal may weaken resolve ahead of a critical UN climate summit in Dubai later this year — COP 28 — where nearly 200 nations will be pressed to phase out the fossil fuel.

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The G-7 also calls for accelerating installment of renewables, Pannier-Runacher said. A plan in the works would aim to triple solar capacity and boost offshore wind generation seven-fold from 2021 levels across the group by the end of this decade, Nikkei reported Saturday.

Read more: G-7 Energy Ministers Face Climate Fight With Japan as Host

The G-7 pledged last year to “end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022, except in limited circumstances clearly defined by each country that are consistent with a 1.5 °C warming limit.” But that hasn’t stopped some members from continuing to finance new fossil fuel generation.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Japanese Nippon Export and Investment Insurance earlier this year committed $655 million for a new 1,580 megawatt natural gas power plant in Uzbekistan. And public finance support in Germany and Italy for fossil fuel projects doesn’t align with climate pledges the group’s energy and environment ministers made last year, according to nonprofit group Oil Change International.

In the earlier drafts of the communique for the ministerial, Japan had called for support for upstream investment in LNG and natural gas. The French energy minister said that a compromise was reached which “implicitly means that we cannot invest in the exploration of new gas capacity.”

The Sapporo meeting is a precursor to the annual G-7 summit for world leaders, which Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will host in Hiroshima next month.

—With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima and Takashi Umekawa.

(Updates with details throughout.)