NEW DELHI: Ahead of the G7 summit next month, the finance ministers of the group of seven rich nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the USA — are expected to make decisions on delivering climate finance for developing countries during their meeting from May 23 to 25.
The decisions will be included in a key outcome document at the G7 Summit to be held at Stresa in Italy between June 13-15. The Summit will take place at the same time as negotiations get underway during UN climate negotiations in Bonn on a new goal for climate finance.
Support for Ukraine, artificial intelligence (AI), global economy, multilateral development banks, initiatives on health and finance, and international taxation are among the main issues that will be addressed during the meeting in Italy.
Whatever decision may be taken at the finance ministers’ meeting and at the Summit next month will have its impact on the annual UN climate conference (COP29) later this year in Baku (Azerbaijan) where finance will be a key topic.
Developed countries are expected to decide on a climate finance target — new collective quantified goal (NCQG) — to replace their previous missed pledge to give annual $100 billion to developing countries by 2020. Climate finance is meant for helping developing countries take mitigation and adaptation measures to deal with the challenges of climate change.
All countries are expected to update their climate action plans — nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — by 2025 for the next 10 years. G7 countries’ recent decision to phase out existing unabated coal power generation during the first half of 2030s will lay a ground for the new pledge by rich nations under NDCs.
Though most G7 countries are already committed to phasing out coal by 2030, their decision was a major step forward for Japan as it has historically lagged behind its peers in taking action on coal. The country now agreed to phase out the fuel by 2035 at the latest.
