MANILA, Philippines — The Group of Seven (G7) nations should stop their push for “false” energy transition solutions and fossil gas expansion that would hinder the shift to a future powered by renewables, climate and environment groups said on Friday.
Climate and energy ministers from Japan, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy will meet this weekend in Sapporo to discuss efforts to address climate change.
Green groups, who are mostly from Southeast Asia, called on the world’s leading economies to stop peddling fossil gas and technologies such as ammonia coal co-firing and hydrogen gas co-firing to developing nations such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
These countries bear the brunt of the impacts of the climate crisis.
“The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change synthesis report was clear: the surest path to avoiding climate catastrophe is to phase out fossil fuels,” the organizations said in an open letter.
“There’s no room for false energy transition solutions in developing nations. What the world needs is a clear, just, and equitable energy transition mechanism anchored on renewable energy,” they added.
Investments in fossil fuel
The meeting comes after United Nations-backed climate scientists warned the world will see 1.5C of warming in about a decade as they called for "rapid and far-reaching" efforts to keep temperature increases within relatively safe limits.
The meeting’s host, Japan, is leading the push to recognize natural gas—or fossil gas—as a “necessary” step in the global transition to lean energy. Groups said that it is not a transition fuel, but a risky and dangerous investment.
The Philippines is scaling up the development of infrastructure that will support the import of liquefied natural gas.
A report by think-tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development showed Japan, France, UK, US, Germany, Italy are among the top financiers of post-Paris Agreement fossil gas projects in Southeast Asia.
Japan also wants G7 recognition for its controversial strategy of burning hydrogen and ammonia alongside fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions, which climate say only serves to extend the lifespan of polluting plants.
“Continued investments in fossil fuels create increased risks of stranded assets and shortfalls in government revenue, as competition with cheaper and cleaner alternatives, such as solar and wind, grows and demand for fossil fuels declines,” the groups said.
Groups including CEED, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, EcoWaste Coalition, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, Break Free From Plastic, Mother Earth Foundation, and Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center signed the letter.