 "G7 ministers set ambitious new targets for solar and wind capacity")
The Group of Seven rich nations on Sunday set big new collective targets for solar power and offshore wind capacity, agreeing to speed up renewable energy development and move toward a quicker phase-out of fossil fuels.
But they stopped short of endorsing a 2030 deadline for phasing out coal that Canada and other members had pushed for, and left the door open for continued investment in gas, saying that sector could help address potential energy shortfalls.
"In the midst of an unprecedented energy crisis, it's important to come up with measures to tackle climate change and promote energy security at the same time," Japanese industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference.
"While acknowledging that there are diverse pathways to achieve carbon neutral, we agreed on the importance of aiming for a common goal toward 2050," he said.
G7 ministers finish two days of meetings on climate, energy and environmental policy in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo on Sunday. Renewable fuel sources and energy security have taken on a new urgency following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"Initially people thought that climate action and action on energy security potentially were in conflict. But discussions which we had and which are reflected in the communique are that they actually work together," said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada's minister of natural resources.
In their communique, the members pledged to collectively increase offshore wind capacity by 150 gigawatts by 2030 and solar capacity to more than 1 terawatt.
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Poland and Hungary halt grain imports from Ukraine
Poland and Hungary have temporarily halted imports of Ukrainian grain despite a warning from Brussels that such unilateral action would contravene EU trade policy.
The announcement by Poland and Hungary is an attempt to placate their farmers amid a grain glut that has sent prices crashing in their domestic markets as cheap Ukrainian grain undercuts local producers.
Most of the grain was meant to be re-exported from the EU to the Middle East to help Ukraine’s economy and alleviate food shortages sparked by the war.
- Agencies