G7 Leaders Discuss Fossil Fuel Investments During Energy Crisis

Some of the leaders of the rich democracies that make up the Group of Seven (G7) are pushing for an acknowledgment of the need for new financing for investments in fossil energy at a time when European states are scrambling to diversify their supply bases.

At this year’s annual G7 summit, delegates are debating whether or not such an acknowledgment can be made to comply with an agreement that some countries made at the COP26 United Nations conference to halt financing for international fossil fuel projects by the end of 2022. This agreement was made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.

“(It is) possible that there will be wording in the declaration that investment for fossil energy should be possible for a certain time,” an EU diplomat said on the first day of the annual G7 summit, which this year is taking place in Germany.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, whose country is also reliant on Russian supplies, said publicly on Sunday that there is short-term need for investment in gas infrastructure “in developing countries and elsewhere.”

During a news conference regarding a G7 investment drive in developing nations, Draghi stated that converting such infrastructure to use hydrogen in the future should be viable.

As the crisis in Ukraine continues to worsen, European countries are experiencing a shortage of energy that is imported from Russia. Concerns are growing regarding the impact this will have on the industries of European countries that are particularly reliant on Moscow.

Prior to the war, Russia supplied as much as forty percent of the European Union’s gas requirements, while Germany received fifty-five percent of its gas from Russia.  The current chair of the G7, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, put the topic of new infrastructure on the agenda for the leaders, and discussions are currently taking place to determine whether or not to include it in the meeting’s final statement.

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A spokeswoman for the German government declined to comment on the most recent events.

“It’s about the question: how do we achieve the climate transition despite using gas a bridging form of energy and how can we ensure this isn’t used as an excuse to soften the climate goals?” said a German government representative on Saturday.