Germany rejects criticism it watered down language on gas at G7 summit
The German government is rejecting criticism that it pushed to weaken existing commitments for phasing out natural gas at a summit of leaders from the Group of Seven major industrialized democracies
BERLIN (AP) — The German government on Monday rejected criticism that it pushed to weaken existing commitments for phasing out natural gas at a summit of leaders from the Group of Seven major industrialized democracies, saying the concluding statement is in line with international climate efforts.
Environmental campaigners slammed the leaders' decision in Japan to back the construction of new infrastructure for liquefied natural gas, a planet-warming fossil fuel. In their final text the G7 said that “investment in the sector can be appropriate in response to the current crisis and to address potential gas market shortfalls provoked” by Russia's attack on Ukraine.
“In the exceptional circumstance of accelerating the phase-out of our dependency on Russian energy, publicly supported investment in the gas sector can be appropriate as a temporary response,” the G7 said, adding that this must be done in a way that's consistent with efforts to curb global warming.
Tracy Carty of Greenpeace International said the endorsement of new fossil gas infrastructure “is a blunt denial of the climate emergency.”
