G7 faces historic climate decisions

GBNEWS24 DESK//

G7 leaders on Sunday will back new conservation and emission targets to curb climate change, and finalise collective action on several other fronts, as they wrap up a three-day summit aimed at showcasing revived Western unity.

The group of leading economies, holding their first in-person gathering in nearly two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, will agree to protect at least 30 percent of both land and ocean globally by the end of the decade.

The “Nature Compact” struck to try to halt and reverse biodiversity loss is also set to see them commit to nearly halve their carbon emissions by 2030, relative to 2010.

It includes mandating the use of only so-called clean coal for power “as soon as possible”, ending most government support for the fossil fuel sector overseas and phasing out petrol and diesel cars.

Hailing the pact, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson — who is hosting the beachside summit in Cornwall, southwest England — said the G7 wanted to “drive a global Green Industrial Revolution to transform the way we live”.

“There is a direct relationship between reducing emissions, restoring nature, creating jobs and ensuring long-term economic growth,” he added, in remarks released ahead of the summit’s conclusion.

Climate change was a key G7 priority for his government, as it tries to lay the groundwork for hosting the UN COP26 environment summit in Glasgow in November.

But before the pledges had even been formally adopted, environmental campaigners blasted them as lacking enforcement and the necessary scope.

“Despite the green soundbites, Boris Johnson has simply reheated old promises and peppered his plan with hypocrisy, rather than taking real action to tackle the climate and nature emergency,” said Greenpeace UK’s executive director John Sauven.

He also noted wealthy nations had a “dismal track record” over the last decade honouring international climate finance commitments.