G-7 nations can lead the way on ending coal use

BERLIN — Germany’s energy and climate minister said Thursday that the Group of Seven wealthy nations can lead the way on ending the use of coal, a heavily polluting fossil fuel that’s responsible for a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans.

Senior officials from the G-7 countries are holding a three-day meeting in Berlin during which they will seek to agree on common targets for the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy that scientists say is urgently needed to curb climate change.

“The G-7 (…) can perhaps take on a certain pioneering role to push forward ending the use of coal for electricity and in decarbonizing the transport system,” German Energy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck said.

G-7 members Britain, France and Italy have set deadlines to stop burning coal for electricity in the next few years; Germany and Canada are aiming for 2030. Japan wants more time, while the Biden administration has set a target of ending fossil fuel use for electricity generation in the United States by 2035.

Setting a common deadline would put pressure on other major polluters to follow suit and build on the compromise deal reached at last year’s U.N. climate summit, where nations committed merely to “phase down” rather than “phase out” coal — with no fixed date.

Habeck said the issue could be carried forward to the G-7 leaders summit in Elmau, Germany, next month and then to the meeting of the Group of 20 leading and emerging economies later this year. Getting G-20 countries to sign on to the ambitious targets set by some of the most advanced economies will be key, as countries such as China, India and Indonesia remain heavily reliant on coal.