President Obama and other G-7 leaders on Monday committed to ambitious climate-change goals, including “decarbonisation of the global economy” during this century.
At the G-7 meeting in Germany, the group also vowed to cut worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2050, when compared to 2010 levels. The G-7 also said it will commit additional funding to help developing countries move away from carbon fuels such as coal and toward renewable energy sources.
The climate declarations come about six months before a historic United Nations meeting in Paris, where Mr. Obama will try and secure an unprecedented international accord on global warming. The administration already has announced the U.S. commitment to that potential accord — a 26 to 28 percent cut in greenhouse-gas pollution by 2030.
China also is expected to propose a cap in carbon emissions by 2030, which would mark the country’s first formal carbon pollution pledge.
In Monday’s joint statement, the G-7 — the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.K. — said the world must join together to meet the goal of reducing emissions by at least 40 percent over the next 35 years.
“We emphasize that deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions are required with a decarbonisation of the global economy over the course of this century,” the statement reads in part. “We commit to doing our part to achieve a low-carbon global economy in the long-term including developing and deploying innovative technologies striving for a transformation of the energy sectors by 2050 and invite all countries to join us in this endeavor. To this end, we also commit to develop long-term national low-carbon strategies.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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