G7 leaders issue statement to accelerate transition away from fossil fuels

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) developed democracies will commit to accelerating their transition away from fossil fuels during this decade, according to a draft of a statement to be issued at the end of their ongoing summit in Italy.

Other commitments on climate policy in the draft include a pledge “to phase out existing unabated coal power generation in our energy systems during the first half of 2030s.”

With the COP29 United Nations climate conference due to start in November, the leaders of the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Britain and Italy said they would submit “more ambitious” national climate plans, according to the draft.

The document commits to a collective effort to reduce methane emissions by 75% by 2030 but, in a section likely to upset environment activists, the leaders give a green light to public investments in natural gas, a polluting fossil fuel.