Earth Protect Blog

8 June 2015: G7 leaders issued a wide-ranging outcome document, the Schloss Elmau Declaration, at the close of their two-day meeting in Germany, in which they affirmed the 2009 Copenhagen Accord agreement to raise US$100 billion in annual climate financing from public and private sources, committed to make the Green Climate Fund fully operational in 2015, and promised action on the post-2015 sustainable development goals (SDGs), resource efficiency, marine litter and renewable energy.

The G7 Annual Meeting took place from 7-8 June in Schloss Elmau, Germany, under the German Presidency. Leaders from the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) – discussed measures to tackle unemployment, regulate financial markets, and cooperate on a single global standard for information exchange on taxation, among many other issues.

Leaders committed to strengthening the multilateral trading system, looking forward to the entry into force of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). They also welcomed the new regional free trade agreements (FTAs) and pledged to immediately accelerate work to finalize the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The meeting also addressed many foreign policy issues, including the conflict in Ukraine, nuclear safety, maritime security, the arms trade, proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, trafficking, and terrorism financing.

On workplace-related issues, they expressed support for a ‘Vision Zero Fund' to be established in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO), which aims to prevent and reduce workplace-related deaths and injuries.

On health, G7 leaders pledged to support the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, and its ‘One Health' approach to human, animal and agricultural health.

On climate change, they expressed 'strong determination' to adopt binding rules at the Paris climate talks in December 2015, saying these must be ambitious, robust, inclusive and reflect evolving national circumstances. They reaffirmed strong commitment to the Copenhagen Accord of 2009. On fossil fuel energy subsidies, the G7 leaders emphasize their commitment "to the elimination of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and encourage all countries to follow and we remain committed to continued progress in the OECD discussions on how export credits can contribute to our common goal to address climate change."

The G7 leaders note that they are "committed to achieving an ambitious, people-centred, planet-sensitive and universally applicable Post-2015 Agenda for Sustainable Development." They also note their "commitment to reverse the declining trend of ODA to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)" to better target ODA towards countries where the needs are greatest, and to encourage private capital flows.

On fighting terrorism and its financing, G7 leaders committed to combating wildlife trafficking, noting this is being used to finance organized crime, insurgencies, and terrorism. They recognized the need to tackle environmental protection in global supply chains.

They also addressed: energy security; resource efficiency; protection of the marine environment; food security; and women's economic empowerment. They highlighted the G7 Broad Food Security and Nutrition Development Approach. They also reaffirmed commitment to the Initiative on Strengthening Assistance for Complex Contract Negotiations (CONNEX), which provides expertise in developing countries for negotiating complex investment agreements, focusing initially on the extractives sector.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the G7 Declaration, emphasising that “good governance is what will kill terrorism.” He mentioned the UN Global Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism that will be presented to the UN General Assembly in 2015. He also highlighted the opportunities afforded by international negotiations in 2015 around financing for development, climate and the post-2015 development agenda, calling these “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put our world on a more peaceful, sustainable and equitable footing."

UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner welcomed the environmental commitments, and expressed UNEP's readiness to contribute to these initiatives, calling the Schloss Elmau Declaration "a significant stepping stone" toward a future of 100% renewable energy.

The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) welcomed the G7's commitment to fighting illegal trade in wildlife across the entire illegal supply chain. CITES also announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between CITES and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on 'Air transport and illegal trade in wildlife,' covering the exchange of information about suspicious activities.

Japan will take on the G7 Presidency and will host the Group's 2016 meeting. Under the G7 presidency, Japan will also host the ‘World Assembly for Women: WAW!' in 2016.