ASIATODAY.ID, MILAN – The meeting of the G7 group of rich countries was deemed not to have resulted in a commitment to take real action to tackle climate change. Environmental activists say G7 leaders have only made “empty” promises to take concrete action on the three crises of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.
“As we approach COP29 and the world is facing the worsening impacts of climate change, there is no time to waste,” said campaigner for the environmental organization 350 org Candice Fortin as quoted from Common Dreams, Saturday, June 15 2024.
“If the United States (US) wants to pride itself as a ‘world leader,’ it must show how it will repay its climate debt to climate change vulnerable countries that are most affected by climate change without the funds needed for adaptation,” added Fortin.
In a statement that will be delivered after the meeting, the US, UK, France, Canada, Japan and Germany and Italy in Bari, Italy, agreed to gradually phase out the use of coal-fired power plants in the energy system during the first half of the 2030s.
“Our leaders are not leading. In the hottest 12 consecutive months in human history, our leaders failed us,” Bronwen Tucker, head of public finance at environmental organization Oil Change International, said in a statement.
Tucker said the timeline set by G7 countries to phase out coal use was not enough. In the statement document, the G7 gave the green light to public investment in natural gas, which is also a polluting fossil fuel. According to him, the G7’s move to support increasing production of fossil gas sends a bad signal at a time when these countries should focus on accelerating the end of coal use, not delaying it.
“G7 leaders cannot say they are committed to a livable climate while expanding and funding the fossil fuel industry at home and abroad,” said Tucker.
“At the same time, these rich countries should not congratulate themselves for committing $100 billion in climate finance two years late,” he added.
Tucker said it would take trillions to cover climate damage and that most of the G7 funds were provided in the form of loans that would only exacerbate unjust debt.
“The G7 must end the billions of dollars in taxpayer funds still flowing to fossil fuel projects overseas and fund the development of affordable renewable energy on fair terms,” said Tucker.
“If their oil and gas expansion plans are allowed to proceed, it will lead to climate chaos and an unlivable future.”
G7 Climate Commitments ‘Meaningless’
Environmental experts and activists said the rich countries in the G7 failed to make significant progress in their efforts to combat climate change at their meeting in Bari, Italy.
“To stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius, the G7 plan to phase out coal is too little, too late, and gas is not a cheap fuel and cannot be a bridge to a safe climate,” said Greenpeace climate political expert Tracy Carty as quoted from The Japan Times, Saturday, June 15 2024.
The G7 economies account for 38 percent of the world economy and in 2021 the Climate Analytics think-tank estimated this group of rich countries was responsible for 21 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
Nicola Flamigni of a communications firm focused on climate change said the G7’s responsibility for 30 percent of fossil fuels worldwide opened the door to continued public investment in gas. The G7 reiterated the need to agree on new post-2025 climate finance goals, with G7 member states as key contributors. But again, this is nothing new.
Climate change protesters stage a protest in Bari. They wore T-shirts showing burning olive trees in the hot Mediterranean Sea. Europe is one of the fastest warming continents and the Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events caused by climate change, from droughts to floods.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who opposes the European Green Deal, said climate change needed to be tackled without an ideological approach. But activists charge that the presence of the CEO of Italian oil and gas giant ENI at a meeting with African leaders on energy and climate shows how closely political interests and fossil fuel interests are in Rome.
“There is no evidence that gas in Africa meets people’s needs better or cheaper than green energy and electrification more broadly,” said ECCO think tank co-founder Luca Bergamaschi.
“In contrast, gas investments in Africa have a negative impact on public budgets and are a key factor exacerbating the debt crisis,” he said. (ATN)
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