G7 moving closer to a u-turn on the vow to end fossil-fuel financing

The G7 made a grand show of pledging to end the public financing of fossil fuel projects by the end of this year in May but now — at the urging of Germany and Japan — is on the cusp of reneging on that promise.

We commit to end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022,” G7 energy and climate ministers said in a joint statement following talks in May.

Now, reports this week say the G7 statement will ‘acknowledge that publicly supported investment in the gas sector is necessary’.

This is an embarrassing reminder of the poor policy planning that was always, inevitably going to lead to an energy crisis. Now governments are begging oil and gas companies to drill more while compounding the stupidity by implementing windfall taxes.

I don’t see how this is anywhere close to the end of the energy crisis.