‘Morally Bankrupt’ G7 Slammed for ‘Caving’ to Fossil Fuel Lobby on Climate

“The G7 countries have once again proved that they are morally bankrupt and have no real intention to solve the climate crisis and take responsibility for this crisis caused by their disproportionate use and relentless support for fossil fuels.”

That’s how Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International, responded Tuesday to the Group of Seven (G7) watering down a May commitment that campaigners had celebrated at the time as a “massive win.”

G7 nations last month pledged to end “new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022, except in limited circumstances clearly defined by each country that are consistent with a 1.5°C warming limit and the goals of the Paris agreement.”

The G7 is a forum of Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, plus the European Union. Germany currently holds the presidency, which will shift to Japan next year.

Following a three-day meeting in Germany that also included representatives from Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal, and South Africa, G7 leaders on Tuesday issued a communiqué that frames new investment in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry as a necessary response to Russia’s war on Ukraine and the related impacts on global fossil fuel supplies.

The G7 statement says that “with a view to accelerating the phase-out of our dependency on Russian energy, we stress the important role increased deliveries of LNG can play, and acknowledge that investment in this sector is necessary in response to the current crisis.”

“In these exceptional circumstances, publicly supported investment in the gas sector can be appropriate as a temporary response, subject to clearly defined national circumstances, and if implemented in a manner consistent with our climate objectives and without creating lock-in effects, for example by ensuring that projects are integrated into national strategies for the development of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen,” the statement adds.

That position was swiftly rejected by climate campaigners around the world, who have pointed to the war as further evidence of the need for a global shift to renewable energy since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

Oxfam’s head of inequality policy, Max Lawson, connected the forum’s missteps on climate and global hunger, declaring that “instead of doing what is needed, the G7 are leaving millions to starve and cooking the planet.”

OCI U.S. program manager Collin Rees called the G7’s climate declaration “an egregious betrayal of President Joe Biden’s climate commitments,” a critique echoed by Kate DeAngelis at Friends of the Earth (FOE) U.S.

FOE Japan campaigner Ayumi Fukakusa said that her nation’s “stubborn addiction to fossil fuels is undermining the urgent action we need for climate and energy security.”

Originally published at Commondreams.org, written by Jessica Corbett.