At G-7 Summit, World Leaders Must Commit to Increasing Climate Finance for Developing Countries

Published

4 years ago

June 12, 2021

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Courtesy of Union Of Concerned Scientists
By Rachel Cleetus

The G-7 Leaders’ Summit is underway, from June 11–13, in Cornwall, UK. As host nation for this summit, and the annual climate talks later this year (also known as COP26), the UK will clearly be elevating the need for climate action, alongside dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and trade issues. One priority that must get urgent attention: richer nations need to make concrete commitments to increasing climate finance for developing countries. Here in the US, 48 groups, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, have just sent a letter to Congress calling for increased funding for climate finance in the federal budget.

President Biden. Image courtesy of White House, via Union of Concerned Scientists

The G7 Leaders’ Summit must prioritize climate finance

At the summit, the leaders of the G-7 countries — the UK, USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy, and the EU — will be joined by guest nations Australia, India, South Korea, and South Africa. Tackling climate change is one of the four policy priorities on the agenda.

Ahead of the Leaders’ Summit, the finance ministers of the G-7 nations met last week. The highlight of that meeting was the announcement of a commitment to a global minimum tax rate of 15 percent for major corporations. In a statement, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said: “That global minimum tax would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the US and around the world.”

However, in terms of climate outcomes, the Finance Ministers’ Communique was disappointing. There were vague mentions of commitments to achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century and no major new financial commitments for clean energy investments or adaptation needs in developing countries, raising the stakes for more concrete actions at the Leader’s Summit and ahead of COP26.

On international climate finance, specifically, the text stated:

“We commit to increase and improve our climate finance contributions through to 2025, including increasing adaptation finance and finance for nature-based solutions. We welcome the commitments already made by some G7 countries to increase climate finance. We look forward to further commitments at the G7 Leaders’ Summit or ahead of COP26. We call on all the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to set ambitious dates for Paris Alignment ahead of COP26, and welcome their work supporting client countries.”

The unfair and worsening toll of climate impacts

Worldwide, climate impacts are unfolding in terrifying and costly ways. Worsening heat waves, floods, droughts, tropical storms and wildfires are taking a mounting toll on communities and economies.

Last month, for example, the unusually intense Cyclone Tauktae struck the coast of Gujarat in India, after traveling up the western coast causing heavy rainfall and floods. The cyclone took the lives of over 100 people, including 86 at an offshore oil and gas facility. Tauktae was the fifth strongest Arabian Sea cyclone on record, with peak winds of 140 mph, and tied for the strongest Arabian Sea landfalling cyclone. This latest storm is part of a trend toward increasingly frequent and powerful storms in the Arabian Sea that scientists have attributed to climate change, and that is expected to worsen.

And in a new ground-breaking study, researchers found that across 43 countries, 37 percent of summer heat-related deaths can be attributed to human-caused climate change. In several countries, including the Philippines, Thailand, Iran, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia, the proportion was greater than 50 percent.

The bottom line is that many developing countries that have contributed very little to the emissions that are fueling climate change are bearing the brunt of its impacts. Richer nations, like the United States, which are responsible for the vast majority of cumulative carbon emissions to date, must take responsibility for the harm being inflicted on poorer nations.

Climate finance is also desperately needed for developing countries to make a low-carbon transition. To have a fighting chance of limiting some of the worst climate impacts, the world will have to cut heat-trapping emissions in half by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050. The recent IEA net-zero by 2050 report points out that this is both feasible and affordable — as long as we make proactive, intentional investments in clean energy and curtail fossil fuels now, globally. That includes investments in decarbonizing every sector of the global energy system. It also means providing electricity to the 785 million people who currently do not have access, and clean cooking solutions to the 2.6 billion people who need them, most of whom live in developing countries — two priorities which the IEA estimates could be achieved by 2030 at a cost of about $40 billion a year and would deliver tremendous public health and economic benefits.

The necessary scale of international climate finance

In 2009, at the annual climate talks in Copenhagen, richer nations pledged to raise $100 billion a year to help developing countries cut their carbon emissions and adapt to climate change. Over ten years later, they have fallen woefully short.

The UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2020, points out that “Annual adaptation costs in developing countries alone are currently estimated to be in the range of US$70 billion, with the expectation of reaching US$140–300 billion in 2030 and US$280–500 billion in 2050.”

Here in the US, the Biden administration and Congress must step up and ensure that this year’s federal budget includes a significant down payment on a US fair share contribution to climate finance, ahead of COP26. Forty eight groups, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, have just sent a letter to Congress, calling for a Fiscal Year 2022 allocation of at least $69.1 billion to support critical development goals and dedicating at least $3.3 billion of that for direct climate change programs as a step towards significantly increased international climate finance.

This is a minimum threshold, and a lot more will be needed in the years to come, including concrete steps from richer countries to recognize and respond to those crushing impacts of climate change that poorer nations simply will not be able to adapt to.

Sharp cuts in carbon emissions needed

Sharp cuts in global carbon emissions remain a core priority, especially with the latest data confirming — again — that we are far off track from where we need to be. While the 2020 economic downturn led to a brief dip in emissions, they are set to rise at a record-setting pace in 2021. Here too, richer nations must do much more. The Biden administration has made a significant commitment, pledging to cut US emissions 50–52% below 2005 levels by 2030, and we must now secure the domestic policies to deliver on that goal, starting with the American Jobs Plan.

An unconscionable gap between the rich and the poor

The gap in climate finance for developing countries is unconscionable. This mirrors the inequity in global vaccine availability, with richer nations stockpiling billions of surplus vaccine doses even as many countries have barely received any. With the climate crisis compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis, millions of lives are at risk and many more are being driven into poverty.

Just as with the COVID-19 crisis, solving the climate crisis will require collective global action. Equity is at the heart of ensuring the success of our efforts. Richer nations must both make sharp cuts in their own global warming emissions and contribute to climate finance for developing countries.

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Environment

Illinois awards $18.4M in restored NEVI funds to build EV charging stations

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2 hours ago

September 19, 2025

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Illinois awards .4M in restored NEVI funds to build EV charging stations

Illinois NEVI DC fast charging — DC fast charging stations in Chicago; via EVgo.

Illinois is expanding its EV charging network with $18.4 million in federal grants that were restored after being unlawfully frozen by the Trump administration. The grants come from the second round of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which supports Illinois’s goal of registering 1 million EVs by 2030.

Governor JB Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced Wednesday that the money will fund 25 new fast charging stations along interstate corridors.

Each new station will include at least four DC fast charging ports, which can top up an EV from empty in under 30 minutes. In total, the projects will add 167 new charging ports across the state.

Illinois is slated to receive $148 million in NEVI funds through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Last year, the first round of awards sent $25.3 million to 37 charging station projects. With this new round, IDOT has awarded $43.8 million so far, covering 62 projects and 349 charging ports.

Pritzker said, “I’m thankful for the quick action of our attorney general in the fight to restore these funds that President Trump was unlawfully withholding. With these resources rightfully coming back to Illinois, I look forward to taking another step forward in our continued efforts to expand EV infrastructure and boost local economies across Illinois.”

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In May, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined 16 other attorneys general in suing the Federal Highway Administration for withholding the remainder of the appropriated funds. A judge in June ordered the administration to release funding appropriated to Illinois and 13 other states. Raoul said, “I am pleased that our coalition’s work has resulted in this money finally reaching Illinois, which ultimately boosts our state’s economy.”

Illinois EPA Director James Jennings noted that these NEVI-funded stations will complement the more than 450 charging stations already supported by the state. “Together, state agencies are working to offer EV drivers multiple charging options at numerous locations, ensuring accessible and convenient travel throughout Illinois.”

The 25 projects selected were chosen through a competitive process last fall. IDOT says the next round of NEVI funding applications will open in late 2025.

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Environment

Is Rivian mulling the idea of offering customers a purple exterior?

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2025

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Is Rivian mulling the idea of offering customers a purple exterior?

A Rivian owner and EV enthusiast recently shared images of a purple R1S Quad out in public with manufacturer plates. Could it be a new exterior color Rivian will offer customers, or is this just a rare shade applied to a one-off test vehicle? Regardless of its future, a purple Rivian is already garnering plenty of comments from the online community.

Source: Chris Hilbert / @Hilbe

Rivian owner shares images of a purple R1S Quad

Hilbert (@Hilbe) shared the three images above on X, with the caption, “What do you think Rivian will name this color? Wrong answers only.” The answers are funny, and many are precisely what you probably imagined.

If you immediately thought Grimace from McDonald’s lore, so did I and several commenters to Hilbert’s post. Upon doing some digging, I found that images of this exact purple Rivian were actually leaked eight months ago, making their way through the Rivian community on Reddit. See below:

Environment

EVs and batteries fuel the US VPP boom, hitting 37.5 GW in 2025

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4 hours ago

September 19, 2025

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EVs and batteries fuel the US VPP boom, hitting 37.5 GW in 2025

virtual power plants US VPPs — Photo: Swell Energy

The US virtual power plant (VPP) market is growing fast, with 37.5 gigawatts of behind-the-meter flexible capacity now online, according to a new Wood Mackenzie report. VPPs connect small energy systems and smart devices into a single network managed by an energy company or utility. That can include residential solar panels, battery storage, EVs, and smart thermostats. When the grid needs help during peak demand or emergencies, they can be tapped – and you get paid for participating.

Wood Mackenzie’s “2025 North America Virtual Power Plant Market” report shows that the market is expanding more broadly than deeply. The number of company deployments, unique buyers (offtakers), and market and utility programs each grew by more than 33% in the past year. But total capacity grew at a slower pace – just under 14%. “Utility program caps, capacity accreditation reforms, and market barriers have prevented capacity from growing as fast as market activity,” said Ben Hertz-Shargel, global head of grid edge at Wood Mackenzie.

Residential VPP customers are gaining ground

Residential customers are making a bigger dent in wholesale market capacity, increasing their share to 10.2% from 8.8% in 2024. But small customers still face roadblocks, mainly due to limits on data access for enrollment and market settlement.

Battery storage and EVs are also playing a bigger role. Deployments that include batteries or EVs now account for 61% as many as those that include smart thermostats, which have long dominated VPP programs.

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Leading states and markets

California, Texas, New York, and Massachusetts are leading the pack, making up 37% of all VPP deployments. In wholesale markets, PJM (which manages the electric grid for 13 states and DC) and ERCOT (the Texas grid), both home to massive data center commitments, also have the highest disclosed VPP offtake capacity. “While data centers are the source of new load, there’s an enormous opportunity to tap VPPs as the new source of grid flexibility,” Hertz-Shargel said.

Offtake growth and new business models

The top 25 VPP offtakers each procured more than 100 megawatts this year. Over half of all offtakers expanded their deployments by at least 30% compared to last year. That’s fueling the rise of a new “independent distributed power producer” model, where companies aim to use grid service revenue and energy arbitrage to finance third-party-owned storage for electricity retailers.

Policy pushback

Not everyone is on board with how utilities are approaching distributed energy resources (DERs). Many VPP aggregators and software providers oppose utilities putting DERs into their rate base under the Distributed Capacity Procurement model.* “This model is seen as limiting access of private capital and aggregators from the DER market, rather than leveraging customer and third-party-owned resources,” Hertz-Shargel explained. He added that most wholesale market experts believe FERC Order 2222 was a missed opportunity and won’t significantly improve market access.

*I really like this model, personally. I leased two Tesla Powerwalls under Green Mountain Power’s Lease Energy Storage program in Vermont for $55 a month, and it’s an excellent VPP program that’s grown much more rapidly than other models, such as bring-your-own batteries.

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