The Group of Seven rich nations on Sunday set big new targets for solar power and offshore wind capacity, agreeing to speed up renewable energy development and move toward a quicker phase-out of fossil fuels.
But they stopped short of endorsing a 2030 deadline for the phasing-out of coal that Canada and some other members had pushed for, and left the door open for continued investment in gas, saying that sector could help address potential energy shortfalls.
G7 ministers finish two days of meetings on climate, energy and environmental policy in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo on Sunday. Renewable fuel sources and energy security have taken on a new urgency following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Initially people thought that climate action and action on energy security potentially were in conflict. But discussions which we had and which are reflected in the communique are that they actually work together,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s minister of natural resources.
In their communique, the members pledged to collectively increase offshore wind capacity by 150 gigawatts by 2030 and solar capacity to more than 1 terawatt.
USA | Florida
360 Central Ave Suite 800
St. Petersburg – FL 33701
+1 727 800 8091
Colombia | Bogota
Calle 113 N° 7-45
Teleport Torre B – Oficina 1210
+57 1 592 1564
Israel | Tel Aviv
Ayalon House 12 Abba
Hillel Street 16th
P.O.BOX 3306
+972 3 754 1111
China | Shanghai
Astronautics Building
No.222, Caoxi Road
+86 21 6482 8990