Officials from the Group of Seven wealthy nations announced that they will aim to largely end greenhouse gas emissions from their power sectors by 2035, making it highly unlikely that those countries will burn coal for electricity beyond that date.
Ministers from the G-7 countries meeting in Berlin also announced a target to have a “highly decarbonized road sector by 2030,” meaning that electric vehicles would dominate new car sales by the end of the decade.
And in a move aimed at ending the recurring conflict between rich and poor nations during international climate talks, the G-7 recognized for the first time the need to provide developing countries with additional financial aid to cope with the loss and damage caused by global warming.
Coal is a heavily polluting fossil fuel that is responsible for a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans. While there are ways to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, experts say it is almost impossible to reduce it to zero, meaning it will likely have to be the first fossil fuel to be phased out.
Meanwhile, Germany and several of its European neighbours are returning to coal-fired power plants in order to conserve precious reserves of natural gas, a temporary — but some say necessary — move after Russia cut back its gas exports following the invasion of Ukraine.
Coal is much dirtier than gas, and it emits significantly more climate-warming greenhouse gases when burned.
Though Germany’s climate-focused government was on its way to phasing out coal from its energy sector, it has to make sure it reserves enough gas to heat homes, said Chris Bataille, an adjunct research fellow with the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy.
