G7 leaders meet in Italy
On 26 May, the leaders of seven of the world’s richest nations, along with representatives of the European Union, gathered in Italy for two days of talks. The Group of Seven (G7), as it is known, meets every year to discuss important world issues such as trade, security and climate change. The talks were held in Taormina on the Italian island of Sicily, and the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US were welcomed with an aerial display by the Italian air force’s aerobatic team.
This year’s event took place four days after the terrorist attack that killed 22 people at a concert in Manchester. In a speech on the first day, UK Prime Minister Theresa May called for G7 members to put pressure on technology companies to do more to prevent terrorists using the internet to spread content that could persuade people to commit violence.
The first topic of the second day of talks was the migrant crisis. Many migrants leave Africa in search of work and a better life. They often undertake perilous journeys – and many die before they reach their destination. The G7 leaders agreed to help African countries create better conditions so that fewer people would want to leave. One topic on which all seven leaders failed to agree was climate change. Climate change refers to how weather conditions are changing around the world. Most people agree that human activity is causing the planet to warm up. In 2015,
195 countries – including the G7 – agreed to work together to reduce global warming. This deal is known as the Paris Agreement. At the G7 talks, all the leaders except US president, Donald Trump, announced that they would continue to support the Paris Agreement. In the past, Trump has called climate change a “hoax”.