Now these are great news but there is a major catch, or perhaps two… The first one the date : by 2100, as in 85 years… The second one, they didn’t say even how they would cut emissions.
So yes, it is not really great news or bold leadership but as many said, it is a start ahead of the Paris Climate Conference that will be held later this year. By then, a roadmap will have to be done. Cutting emissions will happen. It remains to be seen if it will be enough to avert catastrophic global warming.
As Treehugger nailed it, the decision by the G7 statementpretty much seals the fate of Big Oil, Big Coal and Big Gas. Granted they have 85 years to either change their business models or disappear but this is a step in the right direction.
Back to the news, here is what Cleantechnica published :
The top seven industrialized countries (Group of Seven, or G7)—whose carbon dioxide emissions total 25% of the world’s output—decided at a meeting in Germany today to phase out their use of fossil fuels by the end of this century. It’s a breakthrough move on climate change and a strong signal to the less developed world that high-income nations are stepping up their efforts, although funding efforts remain unresolved. Says the G7 communique:
“We commit to doing our part to achieve a low-carbon global economy in the long-term, including developing and deploying innovative technologies striving for a transformation of the energy sectors by 2050 and invite all countries to join us in this endeavour. To this end we also commit to develop long term national low-carbon strategies.”
Many other nations are moving on fast on climate change. India and China know that they can’t replicate the Western Way as it would doom them and doom us all. The West / the richest nations are more or less moving towards decarbonizing their economies. It is just a matter of time…