PRESS RELEASE: CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK EXPECTATIONS FOR G7 Summit
13 June 2024
The leaders of the richest countries – US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – known as the G7, will be meeting from June 13 – 15 in Apulia, Italy. The G7 Summit is a crucial moment to hold these major polluters accountable and push them to deliver new climate finance targets by COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Statements from civil society: “There has never been a more important time for rich nations to demonstrate that they are not tone-deaf to the demands of the developing world. The global north must pay the climate debt owed to the global south. Developing countries are reeling from a combination of crises, devastating climate impacts, conflicts, genocide and debt burdens. Rich nations have to step up and pay up. The G7 meeting is their opportunity to commit to an ambitious new climate finance goal.” Tasneem Essop, Director at Climate Action Network International “The G7 leaders, who will soon be in Italy for their summit, need to understand that while they are debating, about 370 million people in southern Africa are at risk from climate change-related hazards such as cyclones, droughts, and floods among others, and their lives will either improve or worsen depending on their funding priorities. They have to treat the demands of Africa seriously.” – Sherpard Zvigadza, Southern Africa Region Climate Action Network (SARCAN) “We expect leaders to put their political weight behind charting the path of “transitioning away” from all fossil fuels, not just coal. We must ensure that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C is not rhetoric; we need facts and pathways, starting with ambitious commitments and National Determined Contributions (NDCs). The Italian presidency must not insist on fostering divisions among the G7 on postponements and false solutions, such as nuclear technologies (SMR and fusion). Last but not least, climate and nature finance must be increased by committing to a new collective quantified climate finance target tailored to the needs of the most vulnerable countries and urgently implementing the financial targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework.” Mariagrazia Midulla, WWF Italy Head of Climate and Energy, and Co-coordinator of C7 Working Group on Climate, Energy and Environmental Justice “Fossil fuels subsidies are at a record high, so it’s imperative that the G7 finds a rapid path to fulfill its 2016 commitment to end ‘inefficient fossil fuel subsidies’ by 2025″ said Chiara Martinelli, Director at CAN Europe. “The EU has met G7 commitments with a barrage of broken promises and still continues to allow new financing of fossil-fuel infrastructure via key EU funds – with fossil-fuel subsidies in the Member States also amounting to levels not seen since 2015”. “The G7 are among the world’s most powerful and wealthiest nations. At this summit, they have a responsibility to lead the way on phasing out fossil fuels at home and abroad. There is no shortage of public money to make the COP28 decision on fossil fuels a reality – it is just poorly distributed to the most harmful parts of our economies that are driving the climate crisis and extreme inequalities. G7 countries must commit to submitting enhanced climate plans under the Paris Agreement that will deliver a science-aligned fossil fuel phaseout and keep their promise to stop funding fossil fuels.” – Adam McGibbon, Public Finance Strategist at Oil Change International “The quantity and quality of climate finance available to date to combat the intensifying climate crisis has been woefully inadequate. This desperately needs to change to keep global warming to within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. With each increment of global warming, the needs of people on the frontline of this crisis will multiply, and the harms and costs will escalate. We call on the G7 – among the highest income states in the world – to urgently scale up human rights consistent climate finance. More funding must be made available to those who need it most, and provided as grants rather than loans to avoid increasing the debt of lower-income states least responsible for causing climate change.” – Ann Harrison, Climate Justice Adviser, Amnesty International “The climate reality demands G7 leaders signal they understand what’s at stake and will lead the way on high ambition and unlocking appropriate climate finance for developing countries. Taxing the fossil fuel industry and other high-emitting sectors for the harm and destruction their products cause is the right and responsible thing to do. “Given their wealth and historically high emissions, G7 countries have an obligation to agree to an ambitious new climate finance goal at COP29 later this year. They need to take a strong lead in ending the fossil fuel era and provide international financial support to developing countries to stimulate climate action and help secure a safe climate for us all.” –Tracy Carty, Global Climate Politics Expert, Greenpeace International. “Canada’s Presidency of the G7 next year will be a chance to show leadership – but the crises we’re facing can’t wait. Prime Minister Trudeau and the other G7 leaders must step up now, at this weekend’s summit, and do everything in their power to halt the genocide unfolding in Gaza and turn the commitments they made in Dubai to safeguard a livable planet into action. As the world’s richest countries and biggest historical polluters, they must end their reliance on oil, gas, and coal; prioritize support for clean, affordable energy; deliver ambitious climate targets for 2035; and secure a fair and adequate climate finance deal at COP29.” -Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director, Climate Action Network Canada “The G7 countries, as major historical emitters, must shift the narrative from ‘climate aid’ to ‘climate justice. G7 countries have an obligation to provide significantly scaled-up, accessible climate finance and technology at COP 29 to the global south, who are facing the gravest impacts of climate change despite contributing the least to its causes. The global south countries did not create a climate crisis, yet they bear the brunt of it. Climate finance has to address the needs and aspirations of global south countries i.e. loss and damage, just transitions, adaptation and mitigation” – Wellington Madumira, Coordinator of Climate Action Network Zimbabwe. “If G7 countries want to keep priding themselves on being “world leaders”, they must act as such. The G7 represents the world’s richest and most polluting economies, it is their responsibility to lead on publicly financing a fair renewable energy transition in the Global South. Failure to do so, as we watch countries suffer the impacts of the climate crisis, is an affront to our future. They must end this meeting with a real offer on the table indicating G7 member states willingness to deliver on public finance at COP29.” – Andreas Sieber, Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns, 350.org Notes to editors: Contacts: General media enquiriesmedia@climatenetwork.org Dara Snead, Communications Officerdsnead@climatenetwork.org / +447917 583349 (WhatsApp/Signal) ENDS/ |