Politico | At end of G7 summit, leaders fail to agree on deadline to phase out use of coal for electrical power

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Karl Mathieson on politico.com on May 13, 2021.

The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy democracies have failed to agree on a timeline to end their use of coal for electrical power, a European Union official said on Sunday – leaving them without a firm commitment on a key climate issue at their annual summit.

The UK hosts, backed by the EU, had pushed for a promise to “phase out” coal in the 2030s, the official said. But as leaders sat down on Sunday morning to discuss climate policy, the draft communique only contained an open-ended vow to “accelerate” the demise of the carbon-intensive fuel.

“It was a discussion – a difficult one,” because not all G7 members are able to commit to a date at this point, the EU official said, without naming the holdouts. “An overwhelming majority could have lived with the commitment in the 2030s but some were not able because the challenge would be too high in terms of energy supply in that country.”

A spokesperson for Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Obviously it’s down to individual countries to decide their energy mix, but we continue to work with them to emphasise that renewable energy is the way forward.” Johnson wants to use the UK-hosted COP26 UN climate talks in November to lay out a plan on ending coal power.