G-7 Leaders Call for Reductions in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
USA Today (6/9) said G-7 leaders of the world's seven major democracies ended a two-day summit in Germany with a pledge to take decisive action on global issues from climate change to terrorism. The summit’s host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said G-7 leaders were calling for an end to the use of fossil fuels — a key contributor to global warming — by the end of the century.
The full G-7 communique (6/8) is available on the White House website.
Reuters (6/9) described the climate pledge in detail, saying that G-7 leaders supported a global target for limiting average global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial times. It also supported a worldwide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at the top end of a recommended 40-70 percent bank by 2050, using 2010 as a basis.
AP news (6/9) described the G-7 climate goal as “ambitious but distant,” while a separate AP analysis (6/9) compared the pledge to an “Apollo mission” that will require mobilizing technology, money and political will.
The Toronto Star (6/8) said Angela Merkel “fell short of her goal to commit G-7 leaders to de-carbonize the global economy by 2050,” noting that the G7 agreed to de-carbonize the global economy by 2100.”
A separate Reuters (6/9) report noted that the communique said G-7 nations would continue efforts to mobilize increased finance, from public and private sources, to help vulnerable nations.
