G7 climate meeting | “Progress” despite the energy crisis

The energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has not prevented the countries of the Group of Seven (G7) from making “progress” to counter the climate crisis, estimates Ottawa.

Jean-Thomas Léveillé
The Press

These major powers committed at the end of a three-day meeting in Germany to decarbonize most of their electricity production by 2035, to accelerate the electrification of transport and to put an end to the financing of energy fossils this year internationally and by 2025 nationally.

“These are all subjects on which we have made progress compared to last year”, welcomed the Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada, Steven Guilbeault, who took part in the meeting with his colleague from Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson.

Many observers expected “significant setbacks” due to tensions with Russia and the resulting repercussions, but “the press release [final du G7] goes even further on several elements”, he underlines.

The G7 did not, however, reach a consensus to end national fossil fuel subsidies any sooner than 2025, Guilbeault explained, recalling that Canada has nevertheless committed to do so by 2023.

The end of international fossil fuel subsidies is also accompanied by an exception for “limited circumstances”, specifies the final communiqué of the G7, which deplores Eddy Pérez, director of international climate diplomacy at the Climate Action Network Canada and lecturer at the University of Montreal.

“These kinds of commitments have been heavily criticized in IPCC reports. [Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat] he says.

Subsidies to the fossil fuel sector totaled $7.5 trillion worldwide in 2020, the International Monetary Fund has calculated.

This is an “absurdity that must be eliminated”, declared the Minister of Economy and Climate of Germany, Robert Habeck, at the end of the G7 meeting.

Help Europe

Canada made a commitment during this G7 meeting to help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian energy without compromising its climate commitments.

“We want to help Europe [tout en respectant] our reduction commitments [d’émissions] greenhouse gases within the framework of the Paris agreement”, indicated Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who raised the possibility of exporting natural gas.

It would come from existing facilities and not new facilities, said the minister, once again closing the door to the Énergie Saguenay natural gas liquefaction plant project, already rejected by Quebec and Ottawa.

It is also because Canada has a climate policy that Germany is turning to it, believes Mr. Guilbeault, stressing that his German counterpart comes from an environmentalist party. “We are not talking to fans of fossil fuels. »

“good shots”

G7 countries have also pledged to double funding for developing countries to adapt to climate change.

This is one of the “successful moves” of ministers Steven Guilbeault and Jonathan Wilkinson, believes Eddy Pérez, of the Climate Action Network.

“They succeeded in putting Canada, alongside Germany, at the heart of the effort to ensure that the rich polluting countries did not forget their financial commitment of 100 billion dollars a year,” he said. -he.

Mr. Guilbeault has also advanced the issue of financing loss and damage by making it an issue of international cooperation, says Mr. Pérez.

“The next step now will be to reach out to the countries most vulnerable to climate effects, which have been asking for several years to have this discussion with the major polluting countries,” he said.

Steven Guilbeault will continue his European tour by taking part in two meetings on climate and the environment next week in Stockholm, Sweden.

With Agence France-Presse