Richest nations agree to end support for coal production overseas
Source: The Guardian
Richest nations agree to end support for coal production overseas
G7 countries reaffirm commitment to limit global heating to 1.5C after nearly two days of wrangling
Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent
Fri 21 May 2021 16.17 BST
The world’s richest nations have agreed to end their financial support for coal development overseas, in a major step towards phasing out the dirtiest fossil fuel.
After nearly two days of wrangling at a meeting of the G7 environment and energy ministers, hosted virtually by the UK on Thursday and Friday, all reaffirmed their commitment to limiting global heating to 1.5C, and committed to phasing out coal and fully decarbonising their energy sectors in the 2030s.
Japan, one of the world’s biggest sources of finance for coal power, along with China, held out on agreeing to stop helping to build until the final stages of the two-day virtual meeting. Japan’s government raised concerns that if it halted the financing, China would step in and build coal-fired power plants overseas that were less efficient than Japanese designs.
The other G7 members – the UK, the US, the EU, France, Italy, Germany, and Canada – were all united in calling for an end to such financing. The rich countries that make up the G7, along with other major non-G7 economies such as China and South Korea, have played a major role in the past in financing fossil fuel development in poorer countries. Japan, China and South Korea in particular have offered to help build coal-fired power plants in cash-strapped developing countries.
However, the International Energy Agency said earlier this week that all new developments of fossil fuels must end this year to give the world a good chance of keeping within the 1.5C limit. A recent increase in the use of coal, after last year’s lockdowns around the world, is largely responsible for what is forecast by the global energy watchdog to be the second biggest rise in emissions on record this year.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/21/richest-nations-agree-to-end-support-for-coal-production-overseas