By Leah Conway –
Last week the G7 summit convened in Carbis Bay, Cornwall for three days of discussions, and one of several issues raised were issues of climate change.
Much was agreed to, and many commitments were made, but many more people have since asked how seriously can we actually take such promises?
Some say they have echoed past promises from years ago, and many have even criticised Boris Johnson for getting to Cornwall on a private jet (hardly the most auspicious form of travel he could have taken).
What is G7?
The G7 leaders are an intergovernmental group consisting of some of the leading powers across the world, including the UK, US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy.
This year they met for a three-day summit to discuss some of the leading global issues globally, including COVID-19 and climate change.
What have G7 agreed regarding climate change?
The G7 leaders have made several climate change pledges following the summit. They have committed to a “green revolution” aiming to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C, other promises include:
- Pledged to raise £100bn a year to help poorer countries cut emissions
- Promised to help developing countries move away from coal
- Committed to net-zero carbon emissions no later than 2050
- To halve collective carbon emissions by 2030
- A commitment to conserve or protest at least 30% of land and oceans by 2030
‘Urgent Action’
“…We have the skills to address it in time, all we need is the global will to do so.”
David Attenborough
In a pre-recorded video Sir David Attenborough addressed the seven world leaders that urgent action is needed to tackle climate change.
He said, “We know in detail what is happening to our planet, and we know many of the things we need to do during this decade, Tackling climate change is now as much a political and communications challenge as it is a scientific or technological one.
“We have the skills to address it in time, all we need is the global will to do so.”
Video via the Telegraph’s YouTube Channel
“…continue to cook the planet.”
G7 have made similar promises before, for example, in 2009, developed countries agreed to contribute $100bn a year to climate finance poorer countries by 2020. Sound familiar?
The echo of old promises has alarmed many. Action Aid’s Teresa Anderson commented to the BBC: “The G7’s reaffirmation of the previous $100 billion a year target doesn’t come close to addressing the urgency and scale of the crisis.”
UK Charity Oxfam commented: “This G7 summit will live on in infamy. They have completely failed to meet the challenges of our times.
“The G7 has chosen to cook the books on vaccines and continue to cook the planet.”
Additionally, Catherine Pettengell, director at Climate Action Network, said to Reuters news agency: “We had hoped that the leaders of the world’s richest nations would come away from this week having put their money their mouth is.”
Last but not least, the G7 nations received scathing criticism from Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental activist. In an Instagram post, Thunberg lambasted the G7’s “empty climate commitments” and said they were “repeating old unfulfilled promises.”
Empty promises?
As well as the criticism around the climate change pledges, some have also criticised the summit regarding the events COVID-19 restrictions with a lack of social distancing and mask-wearing, as well and having over 30 people under the guise of a socially distanced press photo.
In the aftermath, data showed that the summit was a ‘Super Spreader’ event, with confirmed cases in Cornwall skyrocketing.
It is greatly concerning that this year’s G7 summit appears to be another set of empty promises for the climate emergency, in the decade where it may be ‘make or break’ for the well-being of the planets and potentially billions of people.
The commitment and promises have been made but now it is time for action.