Monique Barbut acknowledged in her opening speech that “protecting the environment is no longer an international priority,” in the presence of ministers from industrialized countries and representatives from other partners, such as the nations hosting the upcoming COP on desertification in Mongolia or biodiversity in Armenia. The Group of Seven, made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, “and its partners have a particular responsibility. We have the ability to act and send a clear signal of our determination and unity,” she argued at the start of this two-day summit.
At the pace of the United States
The minister set five priorities for the discussions: financing biodiversity protection, preserving the ocean, securing water resources, highlighting the links between desertification and security, and increasing the resilience of territories and infrastructure in the face of natural risks. However, the climate issue will not be directly addressed, despite the ongoing warming on earth and in the oceans. The same goes for the phase-out of fossil fuels.
Gaëa Febvre, head of international policies at the Climate Action Network, regrets this direction: “A G7 in line with the United States cannot claim to address the crises of the century if it avoids climate, ignores gender inequalities, and confines itself to a short-term energy vision.” She adds, “By giving in to pressures, it weakens collective action and abandons its potential as a driving force.”
“Privileging unity”
France has chosen not to directly address the climate issue in order not to offend the United States. “We wanted to prioritize G7 unity, especially to protect this forum. So we chose to focus on less contentious subjects,” explained Monique Barbut’s entourage, a few weeks before a G7 summit of heads of state in June in Évian, under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House in early 2025, a notorious climate skeptic, was followed by a series of steps backwards in climate protection. Symbolizing this setback, the American delegation will be led by Usha-Maria Turner, deputy administrator in charge of International and Tribal Affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Protection of biodiversity
France hopes, however, to impress its partners with its “alliance for nature and people financing,” an initiative aimed at encouraging public and private financing for biodiversity protection. It would like to unveil funding of up to $800 million for the protection of nature reserves in around twenty African countries. “We can only be pleased that the subject of biodiversity financing has found a place in the discussions, but these funds must be additional and should not compensate for a parallel disengagement by states, including France,” said Jean Burkard, advocacy director at WWF France.
