Walk The Talk: Time for the G7 to make the COP28 Fossil Fuel Pledge a Reality
This briefing from Oil Change International shows that G7 countries, which have both the capacity and the responsibility to be leaders in phasing out fossil fuels, are not walking the walk – at home or abroad: some G7 countries are massively expanding fossil fuel production at home, while others are investing in more fossil fuel infrastructure abroad. Both are catastrophic failures of leadership, which the G7 has a responsibility to correct.
Walk The Talk: Time for the G7 to make the COP28 Fossil Fuel Pledge a Reality
This new briefing from Oil Change International shows that G7 countries, which have both the capacity and the responsibility to be leaders in phasing out fossil fuels, are not walking the walk – at home or abroad: some G7 countries are massively expanding fossil fuel production at home, while others are investing in more fossil fuel infrastructure abroad. Both are catastrophic failures of leadership, which the G7 has a responsibility to correct.
The G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States – will meet at June 2024’s G7 Summit, at a historic time for climate politics. This is the first G7 summit since the “UAE consensus,” the landmark decision reached at the 2023 United Nations COP28 climate summit in Dubai, in which the world’s nations agreed for the first time to “transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner.” This is also the last G7 meeting before countries are required to submit updated and enhanced climate plans to 2035 under the Paris Agreement, which means it is their last chance to adopt the measures that are necessary to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C).
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This briefing shows that:
- G7 countries account for 27% of current global oil, gas, and coal production
- U.S., UK, and Canada could be responsible for nearly half (48%) of the carbon-dioxide (CO2) pollution from new oil and gas extraction projects planned between 2023 and 2050 – equivalent to the lifetime emissions of nearly 600 coal plants
- The G7 provided USD $25.7 billion each year in international public finance for fossil fuels, compared to USD $10.3 billion for clean energy.
- Only 1% of the G7’s clean energy finance went to low-income countries. 88% of G7 clean energy financial support to low- and lower-middle-income countries was delivered as loans, which risks exacerbating the worst and most widespread debt crisis in history.
G7 countries have a responsibility to lead on the implementation of the COP28 decision to transition away from fossil fuels by ending domestic fossil fuel expansion and international public finance for fossil fuel projects.
Ahead of the G7 Summit on 13 – 15 June, Oil Change International is recommending that these nations take action:
At Home:
- Strengthen fossil fuel phase-out language and targets agreed at the 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit and at COP28: Countries must agree to no new oil and gas projects, as recognized by the International Energy Agency Net Zero Roadmap, and must, by the end of this year, commit to align oil and gas production with the objective of limiting warming to 1.5°C.
- Demonstrate robust implementation of the COP28 UAE consensus: The G7 must commit to whole-economy national transition plans by 2025, which communicate how the G7 will deliver an orderly phase-out of oil, gas, and coal within 1.5°C-aligned timeframes, and agree to include these reduction goals in their 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This must include fixing the inadequate coal phase-out deadline agreed in the Climate and Energy Ministerial communiqué by agreeing to a complete coal phase-out by 2030 and adding a commitment to phase out fossil gas by 2035. Leaders must also recognize that energy security will be dramatically improved through the rollout of renewable energy, not through continued reliance on oil, gas, and coal.
- Acknowledge reductions in future fossil fuel demand and the impact this will have on export-dependent producer countries: The G7 communiqué should build upon the International Energy Agency’s ministerial communiqué by recognizing that in a 1.5°C-compatible scenario, which includes net zero emissions by 2050, declines in fossil fuel demand are sufficiently steep that no new oil and gas projects are required beyond those that are already operational. The G7 text must recognize the impact this will have on oil- and gas-dependent producers, particularly low- and middle-income countries, and commit to delivering enhanced cooperation and support to facilitate managed and just transitions for these nations.
Abroad:
- Prioritize support for the clean energy transition: The final G7 communiqué must make a clear international clean energy finance offer. The G7 must dramatically scale up clean energy finance where it is most needed, on fair terms. Clean energy finance must not further burden low- and lower-middle-income countries with debt. Clean finance must also be implemented with safeguards and standards to ensure all projects uphold and protect human rights, including Indigenous Peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent.
- Reiterate and strengthen the G7 2022 commitment to “end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022.” Last year, the G7 language falsely stated that the G7 “ended new direct public support for the international unabated fossil-fuel energy sector in 2022.” However, G7 fossil finance continues. It is therefore critical that this commitment is reiterated and strengthened through removing outdated caveats that allow continued investment in upstream gas or LNG infrastructure, under the guise of energy security. In addition, countries must expand their international fossil fuel exclusion policies to cover their domestic public finance for fossil fuels.