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Energy and climate ministers from the G7 group of industrialised nations are currently meeting in Turin, where a deal is being agreed to phase out the use of coal power “in the first half of the 2030s” where the emissions have not been captured.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) held in Dubai during December 2023, it was decided that to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C the G7 group of industrialised nations – consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – must phase out coal by 2030 and fully decarbonise electricity by 2035.
While COP28 ended with no firm commitment in place by the G7, it looks as though this commitment may now take place following a meeting this week in Turin between the energy and climate ministers of the G7.
In an interview with CNBC, Andrew Bowie, the UK minister for nuclear and renewables, described the agreement reached as “historic” and stated that “we do have an agreement to phase out coal in the first half of the 2030s”.
According to an article in the Financial Times, a statement from sources at the G7 meeting said the final agreement could, however, include leeway in the planned timeline to include the option of a date “consistent with keeping a limit of 1.5C temperature rise [above pre-industrial levels] within reach, in line with countries’ net zero pathways”.
This would help G7 countries heavily reliant on coal, such as Japan. According to energy think tank Ember, while electricity generation from coal has shrunk by 35% across the G7 group of nations since 2015, in Japan coal still accounts for almost a third of electricity production.
A spokesperson for the G7 meeting confirmed that the outlines of the coal phase-out deal will be formally announced once the meeting has concluded.
Meanwhile, at the end of last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it has finalised a suite of rules that has set stricter emissions standards for power plants. Indeed, if long-term coal power plants plan to operate beyond 2039, they must cut or capture 90% of their carbon pollution.
While these commitments to phase out coal power are a step in the right direction, Tracy Carty from Greenpeace International argued that more needs to be done, and faster. In a statement published on Greenpeace’s website, she said: “If [G7 countries] are serious and aligned with what the science says is needed to keep 1.5°C within reach, G7 countries must ditch this dinosaur planet-wrecking fuel no later than 2030 – and, as the climate emergency demands, they can’t just stop at coal.
“Fossil fuels are destroying people and planet, and a commitment to rapidly phase out all fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – is urgently needed.”
Indeed, a recent report published by Global Energy Monitor found that together with China’s surge in coal power development and low retirement rates in the rest of the world, global operating coal capacity grew in 2023 – potentially affecting climate change targets.
