G7 commits to coal phase-out by 2035, says UK minister, setting global climate precedent

This landmark decision marks a significant breakthrough in climate policy and sets a precedent for other countries to follow suit.

Establishing a timeline to eliminate coal, known as the most environmentally harmful fossil fuel, has sparked intense debate during global climate negotiations. Japan, which sourced 32 per cent of its electricity from coal in 2023, has obstructed advancements on this front during previous G7 summits, as reported by CNN.

UK minister at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Andrew Bowie conveyed the momentousness of the agreement, saying, "We do have an agreement to phase out coal in the first half of the 2030s." He emphasised the historical significance of this accord, highlighting that similar progress was elusive at COP28 in Dubai the previous year.

"This is, by the way, a historic agreement, something that we weren't able to achieve at COP28 in Dubai last year," Bowie remarked during an interview with Class CNBC in Turing, Italy. "So, to have the G7 nations come around the table to send that signal to the world -- that we, the advanced economies of the world are committed to phasing out coal by the early 2030s -- is quite incredible."

The UK Ministry for Energy and Net Zero corroborated this development when questioned by CNN, directing attention to Bowie's interview. However, the US State Department declined to comment on the G7 agreement, while the US Environmental Protection Agency unveiled new regulations necessitating coal-fired power plants to capture nearly all of their climate emissions or face closure by 2039.

Dave Jones, the Global Insights program director at Ember, hailed the agreement as a pivotal moment in the fight against coal dependency. "This is another nail in the coffin for coal," he remarked. "The journey to phase out coal power has been long [...] so it's good to see the United States and especially Japan at last be more explicit on their intentions."

Jones cautioned against complacency, noting that while coal consumption has declined, the use of natural gas persists. "Coal might be the dirtiest, but all fossil fuels need to be ultimately phased out," he emphasised, as reported by CNN.

The decision to phase out coal by 2035 aligns with the broader global effort to address the climate crisis. At COP28 climate talks in Dubai, nearly every nation committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels, although the absence of a definitive end date for coal was viewed as a shortcoming.

Energy, environment, and climate ministers are currently convened in Turin for discussions slated to conclude on Tuesday.

The G7, comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, along with the European Union as a special member, traditionally spearheads global climate policy initiatives. (ANI)