A joint ministerial meeting of the G7 environment, energy and climate ministers will take place on 15-16 April in Sapporo, Japan (see EUROPE 13159/8), in the presence of the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, and the Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius. Against this backdrop, several G7 members are reiterating their desire to move away from fossil fuels.
However, Japan, as chair of the G7, had previously announced that it wanted to restart gas exploration (particularly for energy security reasons). The majority of member countries, including all European countries, are opposed to this. “There is very strong unity among the other G7 members to avoid any language favouring fossil fuels and gas exploration in these negotiations. Discussions are therefore ongoing”, explained the office of the French Minister for the Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, on Thursday 13 April, who also mentioned the commitment of the United States in this regard.
Earlier in the week, several environmental NGOs criticised Japan’s ‘green transformation’ plan, the GX plan, which would promote fossil fuel technologies including liquefied natural gas (LNG), ammonia co-firing in coal-fired power plants, fossil hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (‘CCUS’).
“There’s simply no justification for any G7 country to permit or finance a single new gas field, LNG terminal, or gas power plant, when renewable and just energy solutions are the keys to climate stability, energy security, and universal energy access”, commented Kelly Trout, co-director of research for Oil Change International.
In addition, the ministerial meeting will, among other things, aim to prepare for COP28 in Dubai and will address the role of nuclear energy in decarbonising the economy at a seminar planned by the Japanese Presidency at the end of the programme. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)