Vyusti Magan Shroff
Vyusti Magan Shroff is pursuing journalism at the University of Toronto and a postgraduate student at Centennial College. She is the Editor-in-Chief of The Underground, the campus newspaper at University of Toronto Scarborough. Previously she worked as a copy editor and freelance journalist. She is working with the Global Summitry Project in partnership with Centennial College. In another life, Vyusti enjoys baking, painting, binge watching series and works as a barista to channel her creative side.
Last year — the hottest in human history — set a record for global carbon emissions, but neither of those high watermarks are prompting urgency at this year’s G7 as the U.S. withdrew from the Paris Agreement despite being one of the world’s largest emitters.
The G7 represents an informal group of major economic powers, comprising the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K. The European Union is a “non-enumerated” member.
As Canada prepares to host the G7 summit from June 15th to 17th at Kananaskis, Alta., it has the power to set the priorities of the summit. Climate change is an issue on the agenda according to Global Affairs Canada. However, the debate on climate change might be uncertain as the U.S. withdraws from the Paris Agreement.
That makes the U.S. the only G7 country that is not part of the world’s “most significant climate agreement,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
The upcoming G7 could be a dramatic conference if members attempt to discuss climate change or cajole the U.S. administration to rejoin the Paris Agreement, said H. Sterling Burnett who is the director of the Arthur B. Robinson centre on climate and environmental policy at the Heartland Institute in Illinois.
“If climate change is going to be the topic of the conference, then you’re playing by yourselves,” Burnett said.
Heartland Institute classifies itself as a free market think tank skeptical of climate change being caused by human actions and rejects many scientific claims over global warming, reports DeSmog.
Burnett reiterates that the U.S. delegation will likely not entertain climate change talks. “If our delegation shows up in the first place, they’ll walk out,” Burnett said.
This would not be the first instance where the U.S. is missing from an international summit. Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State refused to attend the first gathering of G20 foreign ministers in South Africa, citing “anti-American” sentiment, according to Radio France International.
Rich countries have a greater impact on climate change according to the United Nations Environment Programme. However, major players like the U.S. withdrawing from international climate agreements coincides with wealthy countries focusing less on climate issues.
“Right now in the Western world, there is very little appetite for climate action,” said Dr. Katya Rhodes, over a zoom interview with The Global Summitry Project. She works as an associate professor at University of Victoria and a member of Canada’s Sustainable Development Advisory Council.
Rhodes adds that many international agreements including the Paris Agreement lack broader vision to hold countries accountable.
“These are voluntary international agreements that don’t really have any consequences for non-compliance,” Rhodes said.
G7 envisioning climate engagement in a post U.S. world
On his first day back in the office, U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national energy emergency and a clear vision for the U.S. to continue drilling for fossil fuels according to a White House executive order.
This is in direct contrast to the goals of the 2024 G7 climate ministerial meeting, highlighting the need to act on climate change by decreasing use of fossil fuels and phasing out coal by the early 2030s.
Environment and Climate Change Canada states that human activity, particularly burning fossil fuels, is the leading cause of climate change.
Trump’s withdrawal from climate agreements is generating global concern as the U.S. continues to be one of the world’s top three polluters.
This reflects a broader pattern of Trump retreating from multilateral institutions such as the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
“When you have a situation where one of the largest players is pulling out of the World Health Organization, Paris Agreement, security guarantees, etc. there’s a potential for everyone to feel emasculated and vulnerable,” said Dharmendra Kanani, working as the chief spokesperson for Friends of Europe, an independent think tank for sustainable development based in Brussels.
Kanani adds that the 2025 G7 summit might be a “leadership challenge” but the remaining members should not be afraid to operate in a post-U.S. world in terms of climate.
Past compliance patterns with G7 commitments prove other members are capable of leadership. Canada, the E.U., France and the U.S. all ranked first in terms of compliance with G7 goals according to the G7 Information Centre at the University of Toronto.
Elsewhere, Japan and the E.U. engaged in climate talks on Feb. 18th reaffirming their commitment to climate neutrality and reducing emissions, regardless of the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement according to the European Commission.
Rhodes adds that uncertainty raised by the U.S. might strengthen cooperation between other G7 members.
“If anything, maybe we will be united and even stronger together in the potential threat of punitive policy from the unpredictable leadership of the United States,” Rhodes said.
G7 countries onboarding developing nations in climate talks
Despite possible U.S. climate abstention, the 2024 G7 Climate, Energy and Environment ministers’ meeting also substantiates the need to partner with “developing and most vulnerable” countries in response to climate action.
Kanani said it is crucial for the G7 and other world leaders to incentivize behaviour that reduces carbon emissions but also gives developing nations the chance to strengthen their economies.
In the 2024 G7 summit, Japan emphasized the need to include Africa in future climate talks as the continent faces imminent danger of drought, floods and other disasters due to climate change according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
Meanwhile, Kanani urges the leaders to think on a more “granular” basis rather than unilateral policies and universal tariffs “which would be unfair to Africa, parts of East Asia and Latin America.”
He said countries should work on introducing social impact bonds around climate policy “that create a partnership with (between) public and private sectors to create gain.”
The Government of Canada defines social impact bonds as a model where private sectors fund social change to achieve positive impact and later receive subsidy if the goal is met.
Although the U.S. may disregard a climate change discussion, other actors in G7 could band together to work with countries in the Global South to speed climate action.
“Climate change and its impact is borderless. It is without a political class. It is without any vested interest. It does what it does, the sooner our world leaders accept that as a mantra. It means you hurry up, you act faster,” Kanani said.