(MENAFN) On Monday, the Group of Seven (G7) energy ministers reportedly made a commitment to shut down their coal plants by 2035 at the latest. This pledge, if realized, could serve as a significant global example in the fight against the climate crisis.
“We do have an agreement to phase out coal in the first half of the 2030s,” Andrew Bowie, a UK minister at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, spoke to an Italian television outlet in Turin, where the G7 energy ministers were meeting.
“This is, by the way a historic agreement, something that we weren’t able to achieve at COP28 in Dubai last year,” he further mentioned, indicating the UN climate change conference.
“So, to have the G7 nations come around the table to send that signal to the world – that we, the advanced economies of the world are committed to phasing out coal by the early 2030s – is quite incredible,” he continued.
Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin stated that the ministers attending the meeting are expected to finalize the agreement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the US State Department declined to comment on the reported agreement.
Last week, the Biden administration unveiled significant regulations aimed at reducing harmful emissions from power plants. These regulations require coal and new natural gas facilities to capture or cut 90 percent of their climate pollutants by 2032. If implemented, the rules are projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the sector by 75 percent compared to 2005 levels.
However, the fate of these regulations hinges on the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election. If President Biden is reelected, the regulations would go into effect. In contrast, if his rival, former President Donald Trump, returns to the Oval Office, he has vowed to terminate programs aimed at combating global warming, which he has characterized as a "hoax."
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