G7 to phase out coal-fired power plants by mid-2030s

TURIN, Italy — G7 ministers agreed a timeframe Tuesday for phasing out coal-fired power plants, setting as a goal the mid-2030s, in a move hailed as significant by some environmentalists but slammed as "too late" by others.

The Group of Seven two-day meeting in Turin was the first big political session since the world pledged at the UN's COP28 annual climate summit in Dubai in December to transition away from coal, oil and gas.

The G7 commits to "phase out existing unabated coal power generation in our energy systems during the first half of 2030s," the final statement from energy and climate ministers read.

However it left some wiggle room, saying nations could follow "a timeline consistent with keeping a limit of 1.5-degrees-Celsius temperature rise within reach, in line with countries' net zero pathways".

It also preserved a place for coal power if it is "abated", meaning its emissions are captured or limited by technology—something panned by many as unproven and a distraction from cutting fossil fuel use.

The G7 brings together Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US.

Negotiations over a fixed date were reportedly tricky. Some countries, and many environmentalists, had been pushing for a 2030 limit, but Japan—which relies heavily on coal—was reluctant to set a date.

The leaders of the G7 countries will produce their own statement after a summit in southern Italy in June.

The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries agree to cap global warming at "well below" 2C above preindustrial times—with a safer limit of 1.5C if possible.

To keep the 1.5C limit in play, the UN's climate expert panel has said emissions need to be slashed almost in half this decade, but they continue to rise.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said that to reach net zero emissions by 2050—a key milestone to limit global warming—advanced economies should end all generation by unabated coal-fired power plants by 2030.

Italian Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said the talks had been "intense" but showed the G7 had "grasped" climate change.

Luca Bergamaschi from the Italian climate think tank ECCO said the G7 had taken a "decisive step forward" in