US and Japan leave G7 stuck on coal

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

Days of negotiations at the G7 leaders summit in Cornwall failed to set an end-date for coal after the U.S. and Japan blocked a deal.

The meeting was pitched as a moment for the group to set a benchmark for other countries to tackle emissions and scrub out fossil fuels ahead of the COP26 U.N. climate talks this November.

“We were clear this weekend that action has to start with us,” U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters immediately after the meeting ended Sunday.

But the Biden administration — fixated on cultivating the Democrats’ razor-thin Senate majority and the coal mining sympathies of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin — was wary of any language specifically clamping down on coal.

Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/us-and-japan-g7-block-deal-on-coal/

[PerceptionManagement]

1. oh, so manchin's stubborness leads to more world wide dirty coal.

republican appeasement

[karynnj]

5. Not necessarily,

There was a major push to help third world country's get clean alternatives. If the cost of building a clean source power plant is cheaper or even similar to a coal plant, the best economic choice. In addition, they have not taken the concept of border adjustment charges to essentially add a carbon tax for dirtier economies off the table.

I suspect that, where it would be great to issue a CLEAR "this is the end date for using coal" which would send a very unambiguous signal if it comes at the political cost of potentially losing the majority in the Senate, it is too high a price for what may not be the big deal it sounds like.

In the US, no new coal power plants were built even in the 4 Trump years - when Trump would have likely to even subsidize one. I think the reason is that any company looking at making an investment for a plant that would be expected to be used for decades would be fiscally irresponsible to have chosen a coal power plant.

That leaves only old coal power plants. I have no idea if the best idea is to include subsidies to convert them to cleaner natural gas, which would reduce the carbon footprint, or if subsidizing clean energy only as a replacement makes more long term sense.

[George II]

6. The bit about Manchin in that "article" (it's more of an opinion piece) is speculation by....

....the writer, not something that actually came out of the meeting or was contained in the report.

This is typical of Politico and their "reporters".

[HUAJIAO]

2. So once again the decision to let the planet go to hell is based on national politics.

Not that I do not appreciate the situation the Democrats and the USA-and therefore the world- are in at this particular time, and perhaps I even would agree with the decision for that reason but.......just another example.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. Yes, but probably the right call

Whenever Republicans gain any power in Washington they block environmental initiatives or roll them back. Actually Manchin has been surprisingly receptive to green investments providing future employment for West Virginia workers displaced by carbon phase outs. But no West Virginia politician at this point can argue for a fixed cut off day for coal mining. I think Biden is doing pretty much as much as he can, given where things stand, regarding combating climate change.

[HUAJIAO]

4. I agree......