On Friday, the G7 countries agreed to stop international funding of coal projects by the end of this year. The world’s seven largest advanced economies also agreed to phase out financial support for all fossil fuels to achieve the world’s climate change goals. The countries said the program would cover unabated thermal coal power generation that does not include emission capture technology.
The G7 nations also agreed to cooperate with other global partners to speed up the deployment of zero-emission vehicles and the decarbonisation of the power sector by the 2030s. US climate envoy John Kerry also urged the G20 countries to match the measures. Some environmental groups welcomed the G7 move but said they needed to be more specific and set a stricter timetable.
Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that the world needs no new oil and gas field developments to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. IEA said that many countries have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by the middle of the century. However, even if those commitments are met, there will still be 22 billion tons of CO2 emissions globally in 2050, which would lead to a temperature increase of around 2.1 degrees Celsius by 2100.
