In an acknowledgement of the severity of the climate crisis, officials from the some of the world’s leading economic powers on Monday issued a joint statement calling for a “decarbonization of the global economy over the course of this century.”
In a communique (pdf) issued on the second and final day of the G7 summit in Bavaria, Germany, leaders from the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Canada, Italy, and Germany reaffirmed the need to limit global warming to 2º Celsius and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 70 percent of 2010 levels by 2050, which is the amount recommended by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Climate action proponents say the statement sends a strong message to financial institutions as well as to the fossil fuel industry that ‘change is coming.’
While the G7 plan was critiqued for its lack of binding provisions, as well as its dearth of crucial details on how such goals will be achieved, the statement singles out the financial sector for its role in the climate crisis through the subsidization of fossil fuels.
The plan calls for the elimination of “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies,” as well as increased investment in renewable energy both domestically and in developing nations, particularly in Africa.
“We commit to doing our part to achieve a low-carbon global economy in the long-term, including developing and deploying innovative technologies striving for a transformation of the energy sectors by 2050, and invite all countries to join us in this endeavor,” the communique read.
Ruth Davis, senior associate at E3G who serves as a political advisor to Greenpeace, said the plan will send “shivers down the spines of directors in coal, oil and gas companies.”
In a press statement, 350.org executive director May Boeve said: “The G7 is sending a signal that the world must move away from fossil fuels, and investors should take notice. If you’re still holding onto fossil fuel stocks, you’re betting on the past. As today’s announcement makes clear, the future belongs to renewables.”