G7 to phaseout coal-fired power plants by mid-2030s
The G7 countries have asked all major economies: countries like India and China to Commit to attaining a net-zero emissions status by 2050 "at the latest".
The communique released after the meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Japan, also calls upon the major economies to let their greenhouse gas emissions 'peak' no later than 2025.
ISSUES OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY TRANSITION:
These are new demands from G7 countries, and go completely against stated positions till now.
It has been well acknowledged that developing countries like India would have longer timeframes to let their emissions peak' or attain the net-zero status.
The G7 communique, which is substantially devoted to issues of climate change and energy transition, as in the last few years, does not name India or any other country, and refers to major economies instead.
Net zero refers to a state wherein the emissions of greenhouse gases by a country are offset by absorption, or removal, through futuristic technologies, so that the net emissions from the country are zero.
India has said it would turn net zero only by 2070 while China has set a target of 2060.
"Russia and Saudi Arabia, also amongst major economies, have also set 2060 as their net zero targets.
On the issue of peaking',
China has indicated not promised that its emissions would peak around 2030, India sees its emissions continue to grow well into the next decade.
WHAT ABOUT GAS?
The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries agree to cap global warming at "well below" 2C above preindustrial times with a safer limit of 1.5C if possible.
To keep the 1.5C limit in play, the UN's climate expert panel has said emissions need to be slashed almost in half this decade, but they continue to rise.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said that to reach net zero emissions by 2050, a key milestone to limit global warming advanced economies should end all generations by unabated coal-fired power plants by 2030.
The World Resources Institute hailed the commitment as "a beacon of hope for the rest of the world".
Oil Change International said the G7 "have failed" their first post-COP28 test.
the Climate Analytics policy institute said "2035 is too late'".
"Many of these countries have already publicly committed to phase out dates ahead of 2030, and only have a small amount of coal capacity anyway.
IS NET ZERO WORTH IT?
It was "notable that gas has not been mentioned", despite it being the largest source of the global increase in CO2 emissions in the last decade.
Germany, Europe's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases is unwilling to wean off gas,
G7 host Italy, which is investing in new domestic gas facilities.
Critics of the UK's net-zero targets argue that they were passed with too little scrutiny of the costs and sacrifices involved.
They point out that the UK alone (which accounts for about 1% of global emissions) will have little impact on climate change so long as the likes of the US and China (which together account for some 45% of emissions) keep polluting.
On the other hand, Britain is among the top 20 emitting countries, with a high per capita rate, and a large share of cumulative historical emissions.
There will, of course, be no global progress without swift national action.
And if the rich world invests in green tech, it can be spread to the developing world too.
Besides, China and USA now also have net-zero targets.
