A draft joint statement by climate and environment ministers of the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialised nations contains a phaseout of coal-fired power generation by 2030, a Japanese government source said Thursday.
Germany, the rotating chair of the G-7, proposed the draft ahead of a meeting of the G-7 ministers slated for late May in Berlin. Japan, with a relatively high dependence on coal, is requesting the target be removed from the statement as members of the group continue discussing it, the source said.
But the request by Japan met with opposition from such members as Canada, France and the European Union (EU), the source said, adding, "Whether the elimination of coal-fired power will be included in the statement depends on the United States."
According to the draft, member countries will advance efforts to eliminate coal power based on a global framework set at the 2015 Paris accord to limit global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5°C, compared with levels before the Industrial Revolution.
The target in the draft was learned amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions against Moscow by Western nations. Many countries are trying to lower their reliance on energy imports from Russia including liquefied natural gas, while some are struggling to find alternative energy sources.
As an apparent warning about a possible return to coal power, the gradual elimination of coal was included in the draft to prevent decarbonisation efforts from regressing, according to the source.
While Japan has agreed to achieve zero emissions and gradually reduce coal power, it has not set out a path to completely wean itself from coal as most of the country's nuclear plants have remained offline under stricter safety regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
As of March 2021, coal accounted for 31% of Japan's power generation. The government decided last fall to maintain coal at around 19% in the energy mix in fiscal 2030.
Among the G-7 members, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Italy have already decided to do away with coal power, while the United States has set a goal to create a carbon-pollution-free power sector by 2035.
The draft also suggests ending public aid by the end of this year for fossil fuel projects, including gas-fired power generation in developing nations, if they are conducted without measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Japan, which has been engaging in infrastructure projects in other Asian nations, opposes the idea as well, according to the source.
