Leaders of the world’s largest developed economies said on Tuesday they would look into long-term measures to curb Russia’s revenues from oil sales financing its invasion of Ukraine and took a united stand to support Kyiv for “as long as necessary” the war grinds on. The final statement from the G7 summit in Germany underscored their intention to impose “serious and immediate economic costs” on Russia. He did not elaborate on how fossil fuel price caps would work in practice, sparking more discussions in the coming weeks to “explore the feasibility” of measures to ban Russian oil imports above a certain level. This would hit a key Russian source of income and, in theory, help alleviate the rise in energy prices and inflation affecting the world economy as a result of the war. “We remain firm in our commitment to our unprecedented coordination of sanctions for as long as necessary, acting unanimously at every stage,” the leaders said. G-7 leaders – representing the United States, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan – pledged to support Ukraine “as needed” on Monday, following a video conference with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelensky is openly concerned that the West is tired of the cost of a war that is contributing to rising energy costs and rising commodity prices around the world. The G-7 sought to allay those concerns. The leaders also agreed to ban imports of Russian gold and step up aid to countries affected by food shortages by blocking grain shipments to Ukraine via the Black Sea. “We agree that (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin should not win this war and we will continue to go along and increase the economic and political costs for President Putin and his regime,” said the host of the summit, the German. Chancellor Olaf Solz. . “That’s why it’s important to be united – including the long term that we certainly still face.” French President Emmanuel Macron has said Russia “cannot and must not win” the war in Ukraine – as its gruesome account came to light the day after a Russian missile struck a shopping mall in the town of Kremenchuk, killing 18 people. The price cap would theoretically work by preventing service providers, such as charterers or insurers, from trading in oil at a price above a fixed level. This could work because service providers are mostly located in the European Union or the United Kingdom and are therefore subject to sanctions. To be effective, however, it must involve as many consumer countries as possible, especially India, where refineries were snatching cheap Russian oil avoided by Western traders. Details on how the proposal will be implemented have been left for further talks in the coming weeks. The United States has already blocked Russian oil imports, which in any case were small. The European Union has decided to impose a ban on 90% of Russian oil coming by sea, but the ban will not take effect until the end of the year, which means that Europe continues to send money to Russia for energy, even condemning it. war. . Meanwhile, higher world oil prices have mitigated the blow to Russia’s income, even as Western traders avoid Russian oil. Energy issues were at the forefront of the summit throughout. Europe is trying to find new sources of oil and fresh gas supplies, as Russia suspends gas supplies to what leaders say is a political move. Meanwhile, high energy prices are a headache for G-7 consumers. Scholz defended the G-7 decision to soften commitments to end public support for fossil fuel investment, saying the war in Ukraine meant time-limited support for new gas extraction projects might be needed. The group has expressed widespread concern about China. The leaders stressed the need to “cooperate with China on common global challenges”, but stressed that China should urge Russia to end the war, respect human rights in Hong Kong and refrain from military action. against Taiwan and improve non-transparent trade and economic practices. From the secluded Schloss Elmau Hotel in the Bavarian Alps, the G-7 leaders will be flown to Madrid for a summit of NATO leaders, where the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will once again dominate the agenda. All G-7 members except Japan are members of NATO and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been invited to Madrid. While the group’s annual gathering was dominated by the war, Scholz wanted to show that the G-7 could also move forward with pre-war priorities. Members pledged on Tuesday to create a new “climate for climate” for nations seeking more ambitious action to tackle global warming. The move, backed by Scholz, will lead the member states to agree on tougher measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) in this century compared to the pre-industrial era. The countries that are part of the club will try to harmonize their measures in such a way that they are comparable and avoid members imposing climate-related tariffs on the imports of others. Scholz said the goal was to “ensure that climate protection is a competitive advantage and not a disadvantage”. He said details of the planned climate club would be finalized this year.
