Venaria Charter approved, Legambiente: «It leaves us with a bitter taste»
WWF: «Some relevant signals but there is still too much gas in the G7, we need to work to really get out of an intolerable dependence as soon as possible»
[30 Aprile 2024]
Minister Gilberto Pichetto has just closed the curtain on the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment held in Venaria Reale (Turin), saying he was “very satisfied with the results”, condensed in the leaders’ approval of the Venaria Charter.
As already anticipated on these pages, the main result of the summit is the commitment by the signatory countries to no longer use coal for electricity production by 2035 at the latest.
Among the other points of the Venaria Charter, the following stand out: encouraging the strong growth of renewables through the multiplication of energy storage capacity (sixfolding the capacity of energy storage by 2030, bringing it up to 1.5 TW at a global level); promote G7 collaboration in the nuclear fusion energy sector (encouraging increased private and public investment); free ourselves from remaining imports of Russian gas; reduce methane emissions; increase the safety and sustainability of critical raw materials; eliminate emissions of greenhouse gases other than CO2; create a “G7 Hub” to accelerate adaptation actions; establish a “G7 Coalition on water”, which represents the first initiative of the G7 on the topic and which could be the place for discussion and comparison to facilitate a synthesis of the common positions to be represented in international fora; develop a voluntary Agenda on circular textiles and fashion, tasking the “G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency” to produce a voluntary Agenda among governments, businesses, and stakeholders this year; ensure a just transition to clean energy in developing countries, with particular reference to Africa.
At the end of the G7, the glass is more full than empty. For example, the WWF welcomes the commitment of the G7 ministers to definitively abandon coal at the beginning of the 2030s, but underlines that “obvious gaps” remain for a definitive abandonment of all fossil fuels, starting with gas.
«It is important – comments Mariagrazia Midulla, head of Energy and Climate of the national WWF, who followed the summit closely – that attention was paid to the implementation of the COP28 decisions in Dubai, in particular tripling renewable sources and doubling efficiency energy by 2030. The many and right calls to contain global warming to within 1.5°C must be made concrete and active commitments, above all precise stages and deadlines are needed. Some relevant signals, for example on the exit from coal around 2035. But there is still too much gas in the G7, we need to work to really and quickly get out of an intolerable dependence, which contributes heavily to the climate crisis.”
Legambiente is along the same lines, given that according to the national president of the environmental association «the final document leaves us with a bad taste in our mouths. In fact, it postpones the phase-out of coal to the first half of the 2030s and does not make any concrete commitment for that of gas and to stop subsidies for fossil and environmentally harmful fuel sources. Sifting through the various themes and gaps, it is disappointing that a meeting between the countries of the world’s major economies can continue to support false responses such as nuclear power (an energy source in continuous decline in the world due to its very high costs) and the capture and carbon storage (to date absolutely ineffective). There is also a lack of exit policies from oil and gas. The result on this issue is not the best: there is talk of a coalition for water but the common objectives and strategies will have to move away from the logic of the sole supply and use of the resource, as has happened up to now”.
Things aren’t much better in terms of protecting biodiversity. The G7 countries have committed to supporting the rapid ratification of the Bbnj (Biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) agreement to protect marine biodiversity, as undersecretary Claudio Barbaro underlines, and the Council of the Global Environment Fund (Gef) has decided to allocate up to $34 billion to implement the BBNJ.
For the WWF, the commitment to a rapid and effective implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) before COP16 and the reference to the financial objectives of the GBF are positive, but for the latter there is still a clear and quantified commitment from the G7 countries .
«As far as the Italian public debate is concerned – concludes Midulla – we hope that we will stop listening to those who call for technologies that are yet to come or are impracticable and expensive: renewable sources, with storage and demand management systems, are the response with less impact on the climate and biodiversity, and also more economically convenient.”
And still on the subject of protecting biodiversity, environmentalists expect the commitment to implement the Global Framework for Biodiversity to be made concrete with an Action Plan and adequate resources, which are currently insufficient.
