Russia sanctions, energy, food – what the G7 agreed

SCHLOSS ELMAU (Reuters) – Leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies met for their three-day annual summit this week at a luxury castle resort in the Bavarian Alps in southern Germany.

Here are some of the highlights on what the G7 agreed on Tuesday, the final day of the summit:

RUSSIA SANCTIONS

“We will explore further measures to prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression,” the final communique of the G7 meeting said.

“We will further reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia, including working to assist countries seeking to diversity their supplies.”

“As for oil, we will consider a range of approaches, including options for a possible comprehensive prohibition of all services, which enable transportation for Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products globally, unless the oil is purchased at or below a price to be agreed in consultation with international partners.”

“We invite all likeminded countries to consider joining us in our actions,” the communique said.

ENERGY

“In coordination with the IEA, we will explore additional measures to reduce price surges and prevent further impacts on our economies and societies, in the G7 and globally,” the communique said.

“We encourage producer countries to increase their production to decrease the tension in energy markets, and in this context welcome OPEC’s recent responses to tightening international markets. We call on them to continue action in this regard.”

“… we commit to end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022, except in limited circumstances clearly defined by each country consistent with a 1.5 degree Celsius warming limit and the goals of the Paris Agreement,” it said.

“… we stress the important role increased deliveries of LNG can play, and acknowledge that investment in this sector is necessary in response to the current crisis.”

“In these exceptional circumstances, publicly supported investment in the gas sector can be appropriate as a temporary response …”

“We commit to achieving a fully or predominantly decarbonised power sector by 2035,” the communique said.

FOOD SECURITY

“We commit to an additional $4.5 billion to protect the most vulnerable from hunger and malnutrition, amounting to a total of over $14 billion as our joint commitment to global food security this year,” the G7 members said in a statement.

“We stand by our commitment to keep our food and agricultural markets open and call on all partners to avoid unjustified restrictive trade measures that increase market volatility and thus the risk of food insecurity.”

“We also commit to scaling up essential nutrition services in countries with the highest burden of malnutrition,” the statement said.

CLIMATE CLUB

“We aim to establish a Climate Club to support the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement by accelerating climate action and increasing ambition, with a particular focus on the industry sector, thereby addressing risks of carbon leakage for emission intensive goods, while complying with international rules,” the G7 said in a statement.

“The Climate Club, as an intergovernmental forum of high ambition, will be inclusive in nature and open to countries that are committed to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement and the decisions thereunder, in particular the Glasgow Climate Pact, and to accelerate their action to this end.”

Separately, the G7 said in the final communique of the meeting: “We note with concern that currently neither global ambition nor implementation is sufficient to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

“We renew our strong commitment and will intensify our efforts to delivering on the collective $100 billion climate finance mobilisation goal as soon as possible and through to 2025.”

CHINA

“We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas… We stress that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea,” the communique said.

“As Russia is waging its unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal war against Ukraine, we call on China to press Russia to… immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine.”

“We call on China to honour its commitments made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, which enshrine rights, freedoms and a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong.”

“We are gravely concerned about the human rights situation in China. We will continue to promote universal values, including by calling on China to respect universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in Tibet and in Xinjiang where forced labour is of major concern to us.”

IRAN

“We reiterate our clear commitment that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon,” the communique said.

“A diplomatic solution remains the best way to restrict Iran’s nuclear programme.”

DEBT

“Given the deteriorating and highly challenging debt situations of many developing countries and emerging markets – with more than half of low-income countries in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress – we recognise the urgency of improving the multilateral frameworks for debt restructuring and to address debt vulnerabilities.”

“We urge all relevant creditors, including non-Paris Club countries such as China, with large outstanding claims on low-income countries facing debt sustainability challenges, and private creditors in line with the comparability of treatment principle and mutual accountability to contribute constructively to the necessary debt treatments as requested.”

COVID-19

“To overcome the COVID-19 pandemic now, we reaffirm our commitment to enabling equitable global access to and delivery of safe, effective, quality-assured and affordable vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other essential medical goods,” the communique said.

GENDER EQUALITY

“… we will introduce a mechanism to continuously monitor G7 commitments and progress towards achieving gender equality.”

“… we will support efforts to expand global access to quality childcare infrastructure including through our collective support of $79 million for the Childcare Incentive Fund, thereby improving women’s economic empowerment, child outcomes, family welfare, and overall economic growth.”

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh, Thomas Escritt, Matthias Williams, Phil Blenkinsop, Alexander Ratz)