By the end of this decade, seven of the world’s most economically powerful countries could get rid of coal as an energy commodity. By the middle of the next decade, the full decarbonisation of the energy sector is in play.
Achieving carbon neutrality by 2030
G7 energy and environment ministers met in Berlin to look for solutions to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Politicians have taken particular aim at coal, which is considered the biggest air polluter and contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
“We declare that by 2030 we will eliminate coal as a source of electricity or heat from our energy mix,” reads the draft resolution, available to Reuters. The communiqué also includes a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in the energy sector by 2035. However, according to Reuters, a fierce battle is still expected over the final wording of the resolution.
There are also opponents
The biggest opponents of removing coal from the energy mix are the United States and Japan. The East Asian country in particular has a target in its energy policy to reduce the share of coal in power generation to 19 percent by the end of this decade from 32 percent in 2019. Getting rid of coal altogether may thus be unacceptable to Japan.
