The G7 have appointed themselves leaders in the global mission to decarbonise and the communique sends an important political signal that sets the tone for energy and climate conversations for the rest of the year. Failure to agree on a timeline to exit coal may weaken resolve ahead of a critical UN climate summit in Dubai later this year — COP28 — where nearly 200 nations will be pressed to phase out the fossil fuel.
Leaders of the world’s most developed economies reached a deal to accelerate the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels but failed to agree on a deadline to exit coal and left the door open for new natural gas investments.
The Group of Seven (G7) said it would “accelerate the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels so as to achieve net zero in energy systems by 2050”, according to a communique issued by the group’s energy and environment ministers who met in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo over the weekend.
