G7 ministers agree to cut gas consumption and speed-up renewable energy
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[April 15, 2023]
By Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayashi
SAPPORO, Japan (Reuters) -The Group of Seven rich nations have agreed to
call for reducing gas consumption and increasing electricity from
renewable sources while phasing out fossil-fuels faster and building no
new coal-fired plants, France's energy transition minister said on
Saturday.
G7 environment and energy ministers, however, could not agree on a
specific date to exit coal power, France's Agnes Pannier-Runacher told
reporters on the first of two days of climate and energy talks in
Sapporo in northern Japan.
"The G7 countries have agreed that the first response to the energy
crisis must be to reduce energy and gas consumption… For the first time
ever, the G7 said that we must accelerate the phasing out of all
unabated fossil fuels... Finally, it sent a message about accelerating
renewable energy," Pannier-Runacher said.
The G7 decided to endorse a goal to "drastically increase electricity
generated by renewable energies," a person with knowledge of the
discussions separately told Reuters, asking not to be identified because
the information is not public.
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Ministers also appeared to be considering numerical targets for
increasing solar power capacity to at least 1 terawatt and offshore wind
power capacity to 150 gigawatts by 2030, the source said.
Energy-poor Japan was pushing for investments to stay for the gas
industry in order to keep the liquefied natural gas in the energy mix as
a transition fuel, winning some - but not all - support from the rest of
G7.
"The imperatives on gas supply are only short-term. This implicitly
means that we cannot invest in the exploration of new gas capacity,"
Pannier-Runacher said, adding that nuclear energy is backed by G7 as a
"solution for the energy transition" with security of supply.
The event has also put focus on the need to help emerging countries
reduce emissions, including through financing.
"We, the G7, need to not only reduce our own emissions but also take
concrete actions to achieve emission reductions globally," Japan's
Economy and Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said in his opening
remarks, singling out countries in the "Global South".
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![](../images/041523PIX/news_g5.jpg)
Nishimura Yasutoshi, Japan's Minister of
Economy, Trade and Industry, Environment Minister Akihiro Nishimura
and other delegates attend the opening session of G7 Ministers?
Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo, Japan April
15, 2023, in this photo released by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo
via REUTERS
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Nishimura said ministers would like to discuss ways to use finance
to help reduce carbon in so-called "hard-to-abate" industries, which
include chemicals, shipping and steel.
"On climate finance, we must make a fairer deal for the 'Global
South'", said Sultan Al Jaber, the United Arab Emirates minister of
industry and advanced technology, told a closed session, according
to his remarks seen by Reuters.
"Developed countries first need to follow through on the $100
billion pledge they made to developing countries over a decade ago."
'STRONGER LEADERSHIP'
The issue of emissions in emerging markets has long been a focus for
developed countries. However, the world's richest countries need to
do more to help emerging nations reduce carbon, said Alden Meyer, a
senior associate at E3G, a climate change think tank.
"There's a responsibility for the G7 and other developed countries
to provide finance and to mobilise private finance as well to help
the decarbonisation of the developing countries," Meyer told a
briefing ahead of the start of the G7 meeting.
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G7 countries must exert "much stronger leadership" in leveraging
financial and technology resources to help developing countries
reduce emissions, Meyer said.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayashi in Sapporo;
Additional reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels and Makiko Yamazaki
in Tokyo, Maha El Dahan in Dubai and Valerie Volcovici in
Washington; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by William Mallard &
Simon Cameron-Moore)
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