G7 climate club needs to be more than ‘talk shop’

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Cathy Orlando and David Michael Terungwa

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June 30 marked the first anniversary of the Lytton Creek fire. After a record-setting heat dome settled over Lytton, BC, it was almost entirely destroyed by fire. Those who returned were displaced once again this past November due to the floods and landslides that resulted from an unprecedented atmospheric river.

All around the world the climate crisis is wreaking havoc.

The impact of climate change on Nigeria’s environmental and socioeconomic systems is compounding the country’s fragility risks. Extreme weather patterns – fiercer, longer dry seasons and shorter, more intense rainy seasons – are exacerbating challenges confronting local communities. As a result, growing desperation over food supply is driving resource conflicts across Nigeria. In short, farmer/herder violence over the past decade has worsened and disrupted business operations across the country.

Governments must act now.

The leaders of the Group of Seven have just concluded their summit in Elmau, Germany. The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. A hopeful outcome of the G7 was the declaration of an open and inclusive climate club. The G7 declaration was also endorsed by the G7-2022 partner countries Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa.

The work of the G7 is not done in a vacuum.

Last year at COP 26, 450 major financial institutions committed to aligning the $ 130 trillion they manage to science-based, net-zero targets in the Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net-Zero. This is more than enough money to transition the economy. What is needed now are government policies that will successfully mobilize private sector financing at that scale.

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Making polluters pay would mobilize that financing. Currently, 46 countries, including Canada, price carbon pollution. On May 16, 2022, Canada and the EU issued a joint declaration confirming the willingness to coordinate on respective approaches to carbon pricing and carbon border adjustments to prevent carbon leakage. They also confirmed the intention of the EU and Canada to work together to engage international partners to expand the global coverage of carbon pricing. Two weeks later Canada and Chile made similar announcements.

It should be noted that all the major civil society groups that engaged within the G7 – including the B7 (business), C7 (civil society), S7 (science), T7 (think tank), W7 (women) and Y7 (youth) – had carbon pricing or redirecting financial flows in their key climate demands.

Our climate leaders globally are eyeing Canada’s carbon pricing policy because it reduces income inequality and greenhouse gas pollution at the same time. Research published in a November 2021 article in Nature reported it will be possible to reach a 2 C target while also increasing wellbeing, reducing inequality, and alleviating poverty globally if countries enacted a carbon fee with an equal per-capita dividend policy. Thus, with a few more policies in play in addition to carbon fees with dividends, the 1.5 C goal could be reached while reducing inequality at the same time.

Just prior to the G7, the Sustainable Markets Initiative — a collection of more than 400 CEOs from every sector and chaired by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales — put forth a three-pronged path to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future that includes carbon pricing, optimization of the the impact of public funds, and government mandates that offer the private sector clarity and stability.

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A good example that would offer the private sector clarity and stability is Senator Rosa Galvez’s Bill S-243, the Climate-Aligned Finance Act. It would guide Canada’s financial sector through an orderly transition to a low-carbon economy in order to meet our climate targets while safeguarding the financial system from the systemic risks posed by climate change.

Lastly, almost 1,200 global climate advocates from 80 countries sent #SteerUsToSafety letters to the G7 leaders asking them to:

1) Rapidly redirect financial flows away from fossil fuels;

2) Negotiate the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty; and

3) Finance successful adaptation and resilience measures.

The G7 Climate Club will need to be more than just a “talking shop” and deliver concrete actions. The G7 leaders must lead and be empowered by the fact that major Civil Society networks, business and climate advocates globally are now collectively pushing together for policies to transition the economy.

Cathy Orlando of Sudbury is director of programs at Citizens’ Climate International. David Michael Terungwa is field development lead and Africa regional doordinator at Citizens’ Climate International.

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