The curtain falls on the G7 Environment, Energy and Climate which opened on Sunday 28 April in the palace of Venaria Reale, just outside Turin. Ministers from Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States have reached agreement on a series of commitments on the front of decarbonization and the fight against climate change. The most relevant aspect concerns coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. The G7 countries made a commitment for the first time to “phase out coal-fired power generation during the first half of the 2030s or in a period consistent with maintaining temperatures within 1.5°C”. As for other countries, the final document includes a commitment to promote a halt to the approval of new coal-fired power plants around the world as soon as possible.
The “phase-out” of coal
Contrary to what you might think, coal is still widely used in some of the most industrialized countries to produce electricity. The black jersey certainly goes to Japan, which in 2023 obtained 30% of its electricity from this fossil fuel, one of the main causes of the climate crisis. Germany does slightly better (26%), which however had committed to completely abandoning the use of coal starting from 2038. The United States has also made the same commitment, which produces 16% of its electricity from coal , but they had not yet indicated a clear date by which to stop. The other G7 countries, however, should have no problem eliminating this source from their energy mix. Coal accounts for 7% of electricity production in Canada, 5% in Italy, 1% in France and the United Kingdom.
The “coalition for water”
Among the novelties of the Turin summit there is also the announcement of the birth of a G7 Coalition for water, with the aim of «identifying common objectives and strategies, to catalyze shared ambitions and priorities to tackle the global water crisis and to integrate water and its intersectoral relevance effectively and consistently into existing forums and processes.” The coalition will first of all draw up “a preliminary inventory of processes and opportunities”, in order to define a real “global agenda on water”. From now on, the rotating presidency of the G7 will organize at least one meeting a year on this topic, in order to ensure “that the objectives and results of each proposed seminar are targeted and clear”.
Commitments on renewables
On the energy policy front, the Turin summit confirms the commitment made at COP28 in Dubai to «support the tripling of global renewable energy capacity» in the world, so as to «strengthen energy security. Also confirmed is the global objective of reaching an energy storage capacity in the energy sector of 1,500 GW in 2030. To do all this, the ministers underline in the final document, it is essential to “expand, strengthen, modernize and digitalize networks”. An effort for which 600 billion dollars a year is needed to achieve the objectives set for 2030.
Support for nuclear power
Alongside the commitments on renewables, the G7 in Turin also provides support to support the start-up of new generation nuclear power. «For those countries that choose to use nuclear energy or support its use», we read in the press release at the end of the summit, the G7 is committed to «promoting the responsible deployment of nuclear energy technologies, including advanced reactors and reactors small modular systems, including microreactors, and work collectively to share national best practices, including responsible waste management.” Also confirmed is the desire to continue research activities on nuclear fusion technology “encouraging an increase in private investment and public involvement to solve research challenges and develop international supply chains and workforces”.
«A decisive step forward»
Among the first to express satisfaction with the outcome of the G7 in Turin is Wopke Hoekstra, European Climate Commissioner, who speaks of an “extraordinary success”. His words were followed a little later by the Minister of the Environment Gilberto Pichetto, who added: «It was intense work, important work. It allowed us to vote this morning with conviction on achieving the objectives of taking a step forward with respect to COP 28 in Dubai. A bridge operation between COP 28 and COP 29 in Baku.” Thumbs up also from the Ecco think tank, one of the most prominent entities in Italy in terms of environmental and climate policies. «The G7 countries take a decisive step forward for the translation of COP28 in Dubai into national policies. First of all, the commitment towards the gradual exit from fossil fuels through the development and adoption of national policies, actions and plans”, comments director Luca Bergamaschi.
On the cover: The Minister of the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, at the G7 on Climate in Turin, 29 April 2024 (ANSA/Alessandro Di Marco)
