2023-04-16 11:19:50
As part of their goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 “at the latest”, the G7 countries (United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Canada), shared, that Sunday, April 16, a joint press release in which they set out their wish to “accelerate” their efforts. They promised to “reduce their plastic pollution to zero by 2040”, relying in particular on the circular economy and the gradual abandonment of non-recyclable disposable plastics.
The press release also specifies that the Member States have pledged to collect 100 billion dollars to help emerging countries fight against global warming. A promise dating from 2009, but which has not yet been kept, while a summit specially devoted to this question is planned in Paris at the end of June.
Through the voice of its Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, France welcomed this agreement, underlining “a strong step forward” in the need to get out of dependence on fossil fuels. But this enthusiasm has to be tempered, the absence of a common calendar making each country its individual responsibility, when coordinated action proves to be essential. The United Kingdom and France had nevertheless proposed the deadline of 2030, but this did not win support.
The thorny subject of gas
While investing in natural gas may be an “appropriate” solution to avoid shortages in the context of the war in Ukraine, the press release specifies that a “clean” energy transition requires, to be effective, a reduction in demand gas. Present at the summit, the director of the International Energy Agency wanted to be optimistic, welcoming the position of the G7, which is trying to “combine our energy security concerns while providing a roadmap in the face of the crisis. climatic”.
The position of Japan, which is quite conservative in terms of energy, was also subject to discussion. Tokyo is calling for ammonia and hydrogen to be recognized as “clean” fuels for use in thermal power plants. A proposal that other countries do not intend to accept without the establishment of safeguards, essential to ensure that these technologies are well developed from “low carbon and renewable” sources.
In reaction to these fine words accompanied by question marks, environmental NGOs expressed their skepticism. Greenpeace regretted “the lack of ambition”, still not up to the challenges, while Oil Change International denounced the “rhetorical games of G7 ministers” on the subject of gas, recalling that “new investments in the gases cannot be compatible with climate objectives”.
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