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G-7 ministers meet in Berlin with focus on when to end coal power
The Group of Seven major developed countries began a two-day meeting of environment ministers Thursday (May 26) in Berlin. The utmost attention is on whether they can set a specific time frame to phase out coal-fueled energy, the Koyodo reported.
Germany is serving as the chair of G-7 meetings this year. Officials said, it has proposed that the ministers stipulate the goal of phasing out coal power generation by 2030 in a post-meeting joint statement, and other European countries and Canada have backed the idea.
But the Japanese government remains opposed to committing to a specific time frame, while the United States has compromised to aim for the goal "in the 2030s."
Japanese government official said: "Only Japan is saying such a goal should be deleted and is a little isolated."
Still, there are uncertainties as Russia, a major fossil fuel exporter, launched its invasion of Ukraine more than three months ago.
The G-7 countries, also including Britain, France and Italy, have imposed sanctions on Russia since then and agreed to reduce their reliance on Russian energy imports.
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The sanctions could derail efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions as some energy importers may need to burn more coal.
Prior to the ministerial meeting in the German capital, due to conclude Friday (May 27), the International Energy Agency recommended that the G-7 lead the world in the transition toward steel and cement production with almost no emissions.
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The agency said, heavy industry is responsible for more than 15 percent of coal use and about 10 percent of oil and gas use in the G-7 countries.
According to the IEA, the G-7 countries plus the European Union account for about 40 percent of the global economy, 30 percent of energy demand and 25 percent of energy system CO2 emissions.
levantnews- koyodo
