G7 Future of Seas and Ocean Initiative

G7 Climate, Energy and the Environment Ministerial 2023

The G7 Ministers of Climate, Energy and the Environment met from 15 to 16 April 2023 in Sapporo, Japan, under the Japanese G7 Presidency. The meeting gathered Ministers from the Group of 7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union) as well as guest organisations and countries. The meeting served to exchange views and build consensus on global environmental issues, which will form the basis of discussions at the upcoming G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023.

Following the meeting, the Ministers adopted and released a joint communiqué, affirming and reiterating commitments and actions under three main sections of i) climate, energy and environment, ii) circular economy/resource efficiency and iii) pollution.

Ocean commitments and actions

 

Under the Climate, Energy, and Environment Joint Section (article 12), the G7 ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the G7 Ocean Deal and to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

We will act decisively and work urgently towards clean, healthy and productive ocean and seas with resilient marine and coastal ecosystems which are essential for all life on earth and for our efforts to address climate change, halt and reverse biodiversity loss and combat pollution in line with the SDGs.

They also welcomed the Lisbon Declaration adopted at the UN Ocean Conference held in 2022, and reiterated support to the Ocean and Climate change dialogue under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) encouraging a more structured follow up to such dialogues for 2023.

In article 30, the Ministers recognise the global importance of protection, conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of the marine ecosystems, the oceans and seas, and welcomed the conclusion of the negotiations on an international legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of BBNJ.

Under the Pollution section (article 37), the G7 affirmed their commitment to end plastic pollution, with the ambition to reduce additional plastic pollution to zero by 2040. The Ministers will continue and step-up actions based on a comprehensive lifecycle approach, promoting sustainable consumption and production of plastics, increasing their circularity in the economy and environmentally sound management of waste.

We will strengthen scientific and technical knowledge on plastic pollution including through reporting and monitoring, and will promote existing and innovative technologies and approaches along the plastic value chain that contribute to ending plastic pollution. Reaffirming the importance of cooperation, coordination, and complementarity, among relevant regional and international conventions and instruments, we underline ongoing efforts to prevent and reduce plastic pollution in the sea under the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans.

 

G7 Science and Technology Ministerial, Sendai, 12 – 14 May

 

Ocean topics will also be covered in the G7 Science and Technology Ministerial as part of the discussions on strengthening scientific and technological cooperation to solve global issues. The meeting will also address G7 FSOI actions.

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