Paris (France) (AFP) – A meeting of G7 nations on the environment begins in Paris on Thursday, but climate change has been left off the agenda to avoid a row with the United States. The office of France’s ecology minister, Monique Barbut, stated that the two-day meeting would focus on “less contentious issues” in an effort to appease the largest and most powerful G7 member. “We chose not to address the climate issue head-on…because the United States’ positions on this subject are well known,” the ministry said. “We wanted to prioritize G7 unity, particularly to protect this forum.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has withdrawn the United States from global agreements on climate change and weakened environmental protections since he returned to office in 2025. France, Italy, Canada, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom are sending their environment ministers to the meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized economies. Washington will be represented by Usha-Maria Turner, assistant administrator for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs at the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Barbut’s office indicated that attendees would discuss themes including ocean conservation, biodiversity funding, and the transformation of dry areas into desert. Activists were critical of the decision to leave climate off the agenda. Gaia Febvre from the activist group Climate Action Network remarked, “A G7 moving at the pace of the United States cannot claim to respond to the crises of the century.” She added, “By yielding to pressure, it weakens collective action and renounces its potential leading role.” This meeting occurs just days before more than 50 countries convene in Colombia for the first-ever global conference dedicated to phasing out fossil fuels, which are the main drivers of climate change.
France is spearheading an initiative to raise public and private finance for the protection of biodiversity and hopes to win the backing of other G7 nations. Barbut’s ministry aims to announce $800 million in funding for national parks in around 20 African countries, according to sources close to the matter. Jean Burkard, advocacy director at WWF France, welcomed this inclusion on the G7 agenda but emphasized that any funding “must be additional and not compensate” for cuts elsewhere to state budgets for nature.
The G7 meeting also aims to reach a political declaration on desertification and security, while sessions on the oceans will seek to strengthen an alliance for marine protected areas. Other sessions are planned, including discussions on water pollution, and a visit to the Fontainebleau woodland south of Paris is scheduled for Thursday as part of a session dedicated to forests.
© 2024 AFP
