As chair of the current session of the G7 Energy Ministers' Summit, Italy is moving towards international consensus to completely end the use of coal in power plants; Rome seeks to persuade the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Japan to set a final date to stop relying on coal for power generation, but it faces opposition from some countries such as Germany and Japan regarding the proposed date.

This trend is in line with the recommendations of the United Nations Climate Conference COP28, which was held in the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2023. 200 countries have committed to tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 to combat climate change.

The G7 energy ministers are scheduled to meet tomorrow, Sunday, to discuss Italy’s plan to get rid of coal, in which Rome will present its detailed vision in this regard. Inside Italy, the government intends to close all coal stations by 2025, with the exception of the island of Sardinia, where the use of coal will end in 2025. 2028.

Italy appears ready to make concessions regarding the deadline for getting rid of coal if necessary to achieve consensus among the group’s countries, and diplomatic sources indicate that Rome may delay the date to satisfy the opposition countries, especially Germany.

Germany is considered one of the countries most opposed to Italy's initiative. It insists on sticking to its schedule to phase out coal by 2030. Coal is the second most important source of energy in Germany for generating electricity, which explains its adherence to it. Added to Germany’s opposition to Italy’s initiative are disagreements over nuclear energy, and Rome believes that nuclear energy represents a clean alternative to fossil fuels, while Berlin strongly opposes any support for nuclear energy after its last closure. Nuclear plant has 2023.

This is not the first time that G7 energy ministers have tried to reach an agreement on getting rid of coal. Their previous meeting in April 2023 failed to agree on a deadline to stop the use of coal, despite agreeing not to build new coal-fired power plants. Italy faces major challenges in its efforts to push the G7 countries towards getting rid of coal completely. Opposition from Germany and Japan, as well as from other countries, threatens to derail the achievement of this ambitious goal.