Photo: Karwai Tang/Pool/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The Group of Seven leaders on Sunday concluded their summit by agreeing to reaffirm their previously-established goals to create a turning point in climate change issues in 2021.
The big picture: The G7 leaders emphasized their commitment to a green transition that would cut emissions, halt and reverse biodiversity loss and "increase prosperity and wellbeing." They did not announce specific new goals.
- They reaffirmed their intention to cut emissions of greenhouse gases to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C (2.7°F) above preindustrial levels through 2100.
- They also pledged to raise their contributions to increase climate funding to assist developing countries in cutting their carbon emissions and coping with climate impacts.
Yes, but: The reaffirmations to accomplish these broad strokes are vague and lack details. Developing countries and other world leaders had looked to the G7 talks as an opportunity to see specific funding plans after $100 billion in annual climate finance, first pledged in 2015, has failed to materialize.
- The G7 communique also lacks a commitment to phase out the use of gasoline powered automobiles, which had surfaced in earlier drafts, and omits specifics on the G7's timeframe for halting funding for coal-fired power plants.
Our thought bubble: via Axios' Andrew Freedman: "On climate change, G7 leaders largely reaffirmed ambitious goals they had already established. However, the communique lacks specifics on climate finance, which could present a roadblock to an agreement at the next round of U.N. climate talks in November. It also lacks new and specific commitments on emissions cuts from individual G7 countries."