BERLIN (AP) — The Group of Seven richest nations can lead the way away from coal, a highly polluting fuel responsible for much of global greenhouse gas emissions, Germany’s energy and climate minister said Thursday.
Senior officials from the G7 countries were holding a three-day summit in Berlin seeking common goals for the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, which scientists say is urgently needed to combat climate change.
“The G7 … can perhaps take a certain pioneering role in pushing for the end of coal consumption for electricity and reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the transport system,” said German Energy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck.
Habeck said the issue could be raised at the G7 leaders’ summit scheduled for next month in Elmau, Germany, and later at this year’s meeting of the Group of 20 large and emerging economies. Committing G20 countries to the ambitious targets of some of the most advanced economies will be key, as countries like China, India and Indonesia remain heavily dependent on coal.
Habeck said it would be wrong to see efforts by countries to address the current energy crisis, fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine, as a trend against the abandonment of fossil fuels.
“What we see right now is an acceleration of ecological transformation,” he said.
Environmental groups have warned that countries like Germany risk undermining their green goals by rushing to find new sources of natural gas, for example in the United States, to make up for lack of supplies from Russia.
The meeting in Berlin would also seek agreements to increase financial aid to poor countries to deal with climate change, as well as additional funds for biodiversity, ocean protection and reduction of plastic pollution.