G-7 establishes Climate Club to fight global warming

The G-7 group of the world's major economic powers has decided to establish an international Climate Club to tackle global warming, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Monday.

“The Climate Club is not intended to be a G-7 initiative; rather, it is to be a global undertaking," Scholz told a news conference in Berlin, following a virtual meeting of G-7 leaders.

He invited interested states that pursue an ambitious climate policy to join the club, adding that they can shape its concept and structure together in the coming months.

“This is not an exclusive club, it’s intended to be as open as possible to many countries, so that we can also together master this great task we have to protect our planet and the environment for future generations,” he said.

Scholz also noted that the G-7 asked the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in tandem with the International Energy Agency, to host an interim secretariat for the Climate Club.

The idea was first discussed during the G-7 summit in Elmau, Germany in June, and the leaders reached an agreement at that time to set up this intergovernmental forum by the end of this year.

On Monday, at their virtual meeting, G-7 leaders endorsed a “terms of reference” document for the Climate Club, which outlined the main objectives, criteria for participation, and planned steps for the further development of the forum.

The Climate Club will be open to countries which indicate commitment to “the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement” and the decisions thereunder, and pursue efforts to limiting the temperature increase to 1.5C, according to the document.