UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will insist G7 leaders on implementing a “Marshall plan” for climate at their meeting in Cornwall. The G7 Summit will be held in Cornwall from 11-13 June 2021 and will focus on climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Johnson wants to push leaders to sign up for this Marshall plan in order to help developing countries cope with the decarbonization goals.
The American Marshall plan was enacted in 1948 by the US to provide help to Western Europe after World War II. It provided more than $15 billion to reconstruct cities, industries and infrastructure heavily damaged during the war.
Apart from this modern Marshall plan, Johnson’s proposal also includes the Belt and Road Initiative. It represents a strategic Chinese infrastructure investment to nearly 70 countries since 2013 to enhance connectivity and economic prospects.
Johnson will insist that the G7 invest in large-scale renewable energy projects across Africa and parts of Asia. That would be similar to how America helped rebuild Europe’s economies after World War Two.
Marshall Plan Acceptance And Opposition On G7 Summit
However, UK finance ministers are taking a step back and refraining from a commitment to any numbers. Furthermore, they are deemed to “merely” reaffirm the existing claims to “increase and improve” climate finance contributions. The Treasury also refuses to provide new UK money before the autumn spending review.
Mozambican politician Graça Machel has urged wealthier countries to share their progress with the Covid-19 vaccines and climate change mitigation, saying:
“Without everyone on Earth being vaccinated, there is no safety…At the beginning of Covid, we all embraced one another, saying it is a threat to everyone. But as soon as there was a vaccine that solidarity completely disappeared…We have to be in solidarity; the impact of climate change will be in the developed world as well. We are all safe or no one is safe.”
The G7 Summit 2021 is of critical importance for the world to take bold measures on recovery from the pandemic and climate change. Boris Johnson on climate change’s stance fosters such bold measures despite the pullback from some government officials. Wealthy nations will feel the urgency to support developing countries so the world can achieve the Paris Agreement goals.
