GS Paper 2
Syllabus: International Relations
Source: IE
Context: The 49th annual summit (Hiroshima, Japan) of the G7 leaders concluded recently.
Highlights of the summit:
- G7 countries said that they would build economic resilience for themselves, based on a strategy of diversifying and deepening partnerships and de-risking, not decoupling.
- G7 acknowledged the urgency for effective climate action but offered little in terms of scaled-up action.
What does de-risking and decoupling mean?
| De-risking | Decoupling |
| To move business away from areas that are considered risky in terms of the returns they could generate. | It is used as an alternative to an economic boycott to reduce correlation between markets.
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| To have resilient, effective supply chains to prevent coercion of any other country. |
Why was ‘de-risking’ used by G7 countries? To describe their stance towards China on economic matters.
De-risking in the context of China: It can be interpreted as a reduction of the reliance on China in the economic sphere – for the supply of materials or as a market for finished goods, so that potential risks to trade and disruption of supply chains are reduced.
| G7 on effective climate action | |
| Need | The window of opportunity for effective action was narrowing faster than ever before.
The 1.5 degree Celsius threshold was likely to be temporarily breached over the next five years (WMO). Surpassing 2016, 2023 is on track to become the warmest ever. The probability of occurrence of heat waves in India and neighbouring countries has increased by 30 times due to global warming. |
| Milestones listed for effective climate action | A global peak by 2025: The G7 claimed that their GHG emissions had already peaked, and asked all major economies (India, China, Brazil, South Africa, and Russia) to ensure that their individual emissions peak by 2025.
Net-zero by 2050: It is essential in order to meet the 1.5 degree Celsius target. The G7 asked all major economies to come up with detailed road maps to reach the target. Eliminating “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” by 2025. |
| Challenges in meeting the milestones | The 2025 peak year is not mandated under the Paris Agreement. India has indicated that its emissions will grow in the next decade as well. China, the world’s largest emitter, would peak only towards the end of this decade.
Only Germany (among the major emitters like the US, EU) has said it would attain net-zero status by 2045. China would turn net-zero in 2060, while India has set 2070 as the target. Some other countries. The G7 countries put no deadline to ending the use of fossil fuels. |
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