In the Apulian setting of Savelletri di Fasano, the work of the Italian-led G7 concluded on Saturday 15 June. For three days the heads of state of Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus representatives from the European Union, discussed artificial intelligence, energy, rights, migration and trade, against a multilateral background torn by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the effects of the climate crisis, and the rising global tide of new and old inequalities.
The 36-page final document refers back to decisions inherited from past negotiation processes and does not contain major innovations other than the one on the use of profits accrued from Russian assets. In the event that Ukraine is unable to repay the 50 billion euros in loans intended for reconstruction and war activities, the G7 has established that the financing countries can recover the Russian funds frozen in European credit institutions. In regards to the war in Gaza, the desire to continue the truce plan between Hamas and Israel advanced by the United States was confirmed, and support for the ’two peoples, two states’ solution was relaunched.
In terms of relationships with other countries, the G7 itself opened its doors to – besides Pope Francis – a number of invitees from the BRICS and the global South and particularly from Africa, in order to find new partners for identifying solutions to numerous international challenges. Whether this change should be considered real or a façade is highly debatable. In fact, while the G7 and the EU say they want to prioritize stronger partnerships with Africa, data seem to contradict these statements. According to an analysis by The One, a non-governmental organization founded by Bono Vox, net financial flows to African countries decreased by 18% between 2020 and 2022, going from 56 to 40 billion dollars, while African countries are expected to spend $81 billion on debt servicing between 2023 and 2025.
As already emerged from the Ministerial meeting of the G7 on Climate, Energy and Environment, hosted in Turin between the 28th and the 30th of April, there is also little news concerning energy and climate. Countries have missed yet another opportunity to define a clear and transparent roadmap to exiting fossil fuels, reiterating once again that they have no intention of giving up gas, at least for the years to come. Although it was positive to see, for example, the intention to phase out coal in the first years after 2030, the G7 also intends to continue the so-called “Mattei Plan for Africa”. Launched by Italy, the plan proposes nuclear fusion as a possible solution to the challenges of climate change and energy security, though not in the short term, and it announces the initiative “Energy for growth in Africa”, which gives space to clean energy.
As for the rest, the summit respected the commitments made during COP 28 in Dubai, including tripling global renewable capacity and doubling the global average annual growth rate of energy efficiency by 2030.
Yet, the G7 could do much more, if it wanted to, to address an increasingly serious climate crisis. We have just experienced the hottest May since records have existed, we have just experienced the twelfth consecutive month in which the global average temperature hit record highs, and the global average temperature for the last 12 months was 1.63°C above the estimated average from the period 1850-1900 (Copernicus data).
From this perspective, the G7 can be considered a missed opportunity. Climate was one of the priorities announced by President Meloni for the Italian G7, but the leaders’ final statement limits itself to confirming the main objectives of COP28 and the Global Framework for Biodiversity, missing the opportunity to accelerate the multilateral path towards COP29 in Baku on climate and COP16 in Cali on biodiversity at the end of the year. The news coming from Bonn, where a round of climate negotiations has just concluded, further confirms the need for such a push.
Overall, this was a missed opportunity to respond to the serious economic, financial, and social impact generated by an increasingly rapidly changing climate and an increasingly serious loss of biodiversity.
As pointed out by Italian and international civil society organizations gathered in the C7, “the G7 countries hold a disproportionate responsibility for the climate crisis and biodiversity loss compared to other countries, but also disproportionate resources and capacity to respond”. Also, “an equitable distribution of the global mitigation effort among the peoples and countries of the world requires that those countries with the greatest historical responsibility and capacity to address the climate crisis do more, and do it faster”.
In this certainly not comforting context, foundations should insist on holding the bar towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and show that the already existing just transition solutions cannot fail to be connected to collaborative approaches, science based enhancements, and participatory processes.