Posted on April, 30 2024

Gland, Switzerland (30 April 2024): G7 climate and energy ministers have pledged to phase out unabated coal by 2035 at the latest. This shows that leading emitters are starting to respond to the decision made at the UN climate summit COP28 in December last year, where countries agreed to ‘transition away from fossil fuels’. However, coal is already on the decline in most G7 countries, so they should raise their ambition and move to phase it out by no later than 2030, and step up and urgently commit to phase out dates for oil and gas too.

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead, said: “This G7 pledge is an important signal that major economies are starting to come together to eliminate the most polluting forms of energy. But if we are to progress toward the security and prosperity that a 100% renewable power generation system can bring, these countries will need to phase out all coal by 2030 and also make similar commitments to phase out oil and gas well before 2050. G7 countries have the opportunity to lead the world in setting the pace for action. 

“The decisions of these leading economies have the power to advance the energy sector transformation at the scale and pace that is required to keep warming to 1.5℃.”

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Robin Harvey, Media Relations Manager, rharvey@wwfint.org or news@wwfint.org