Brussels, 08/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - The heads of state and government of the seven most industrialised countries in the world (France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) sought to send out a message of encouragement to the world, on Monday 8 June from Elmau (Bavaria) to make the Paris climate conference (COP 21, 30 November - 11 December) a success and provide a global response to the problem of climate change post-2020.
It was with this in mind that they stressed their “strong determination” to sign, in Paris in December of this year, a protocol or other global climate instrument which is “ambitious, robust, inclusive and reflects evolving national circumstances”.
And to show their goodwill towards the developing countries, for which funding is paramount, they also reiterated their commitment to mobilise increasing levels of public and private funds to take on their role in the $100 billion a year pledged at Copenhagen in 2009 by the industrialised countries, to support the attenuation and adaptation efforts of the developing countries from 2020.
The G7 stresses that the Paris protocol must be transparent to allow the progress made towards the objectives to be monitored. The level of ambition must increase, it adds, to allow “all countries to follow a low-carbon and resilient development pathway in line with the global goal to hold the increase in global average temperature below 2°C” compared to the pre-industrial era.
All of the G7 countries - including Japan, have now announced or submitted to the UN their intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) to the future agreement. The G7 welcomes this, but points out that these offers are based on different reference years. Japan, for instance, is planning to cut its emissions by 26% by 2030 compared to 2013 figures, a less ambitious plan than that of the United States, which is to reduce emissions by between 26% and 28% by 2025 compared to 2005, and that of the EU, with a reduction of at least 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 figures. Hence the importance of the transparency of the offers.
“The G7 is very much in favour of binding rules, but at the moment, these do not exist. This must be the goal of the Paris conference. We want to make sure that the countries are able to opt for environmentally responsible development in order to comply with the objective of 2°C. We fully accept this target. We accept a project to de-carbonise the global economy over the course of the century (in other words up to 2100, rather than 2050 as the NGOs had hoped for: Ed). We agree that in order to achieve this, we must considerably reduce greenhouse gas emissions”, Angela Merkel told the press after the summit.
She went on to add that “we recognise the recommendations of the latest IPCC report, which calls for a reduction of 40% to 60% by 2050. A 50% reduction will not be enough. We need to be thinking more in terms of 40% to 70%. Every country must make its contribution. The G7 countries will make their commitment”.
In answer to a question from a journalist, she stressed the importance of China's future contribution, because “even if the G7 countries stopped emitting CO2 overnight, they would not be able to achieve the 2°C objective on their own. China has to come on board. It has made a great many efforts. It is focusing on renewables (solar energy, wind power), but it has clearly stated that it would get down to the business of cutting its CO2 emissions after a certain phase”.
As for the funding of $100 billion a year, Merkel said that the promises must be backed up. “Ahead of the Paris conference, we should be able to reach this target. Many developing countries, many archipelagos will only come to Paris intending to sign an agreement if the financing objectives are guaranteed”, the Chancellor warned.
In its final declaration, the G7 stresses that it aims to increase the number of people with climate change-related disaster insurance in the most vulnerable developing countries to 400 million people by 2020, which is four times higher than currently.
The G7 goes on to state that it will also work to speed up the access of Africa and developing countries in other parts of the world to renewable energy. The Chancellor welcomed the fact that the G7 has adopted a proposal of the African Union commission. “An initiative for renewable energies or a plan will be drawn up ahead of Paris to give the African countries access to clean and renewable energy”, she said.
The G7 also stressed its ambition of ensuring that the Green Climate Fund is fully up and running in 2015 and to make it into a “key institution of the future climate finance architecture”. (Aminata Niang)