G7, developing countries reaffirm climate goals

Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies and developing countries invited to their summit yesterday agreed to work together to accelerate the fight against climate change while ensuring their energy security, a statement said.

At a G7 meeting in Germany that invited the leaders of Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal, South Africa, they also discussed ways of phasing down coal and scaling up renewable energies in a way that is "socially just", the statement said.

G7 countries, in a standoff with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, have sought ways to plug energy shortages and tackle soaring prices while sticking to their climate commitments.

They announced no specific new climate measures in yesterday's statement but could say more in a communique after the three-day summit, which began on Sunday.

The leaders "agreed to work together to accelerate a clean and just transition towards climate neutrality, while ensuring energy security", the statement said.

Environment activists have pushed Western powers to stay focused on climate change goals despite the war, as some European Union countries turned back to dirtier coal to meet their energy demand.

Japan has also pushed to remove a target for zero-emission vehicles from a G7 communique expected this week.

Meanwhile, delegates from almost 200 nations have made little progress towards hammering out a blueprint for a global pact to protect nature from human activity, after almost a week of difficult talks in Nairobi.

The meetings wrapping up Sunday were aimed at ironing out differences among the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's 196 members, with barely six months before a crucial COP15 summit in December, reports AFP.