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Japan’s Environment Minister Akihiro Nishimura (centre) and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura (second right) attend a news conference of the Group of 7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment, in Sapporo, Japan, on April 16. Photo: Kyodo
The Group of Seven (G7) leaders are set to meet in Hiroshima next month to contest daunting global challenges. The host city was hit by an atomic bomb almost 78 years ago, resulting in a historical tragedy. Those who visit the city will see a message to humanity etched on the Hiroshima Memorial Cenotaph: “Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil.”
Today, we face another human-induced threat in climate change. As the world seeks to prevent the full-scale damage climate change is capable of, it seeks the kind of determination Hiroshima showed while rebuilding itself into a resilient, prosperous city. That is why it is vital to promote international cooperation, and G7 leaders must come to an agreement to scale up efforts on climate action.

The G7 bears the responsibility for leading efforts to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions as developed Western countries have emitted most of the world’s greenhouse gases since the start of the Industrial Revolution. We hope the G7 leaders can focus on having meaningful discourse on climate change, reaffirm their prior climate commitments and allow for the emergence of new commitments to help escape another human catastrophe.

The G7 also needs to accept that its members alone cannot limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Recent scientific estimates show that doing so would require emissions reductions of around 43 per cent by 2030, relative to 2019 levels.

Therefore, the group needs to coordinate with developing countries. However, the reality is that geopolitical tensions between China and the United States, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have hampered global emission-reduction efforts. Last year’s G7 summit in Germany included a pledge that the war would not hinder climate and biodiversity goals, and we hope the group proposes bold, pragmatic and tangible initiatives to achieve that.
Rising emissions from developing countries such as China and India are also complicating climate negotiations. It is imperative the G7 understands that these countries have their own growth concerns around emissions reductions. However, the group can encourage initiatives that promote climate-smart growth in developing countries. Bringing these initiatives to life will require the G7 and emerging economies to enhance communication and cooperation on climate finance, and research and development.
Tetsushi Sonobe is dean and CEO of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). He also serves as lead chair of Think7 (T7) Japan, the official think tank engagement group of the Group of 7 (G7), under Japan’s 2023 G7 presidency. He obtained a PhD and BA in economics from Yale University and the University of Tokyo respectively. He is a recipient of the Nikkei Book Publication Prize and Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize, and founding board member of the Japanese Association for Development Economics.
Dil Rahut
Dil Rahut is vice-chair of research at the Asian Development Bank Institute and a co-chair of the T7 Japan task force on development and economic prosperity. Previously, he was a senior global programme manager of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre. His research focuses on development microeconomics, agricultural, environmental, and natural resource economics. 
Dhiroj Koirala is a PhD candidate in the Department of Resource Economics at at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research focuses on household energy transition issues in developing countries. He is also supporting the ADBI’s Group of Seven (G7) dashboard project to monitor the progress of the G7’s commitments and pledges.
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