G7 – Group of Seven

The Group of Seven (G7) is not an international organisation. It is an informal forum in which the heads of state and government of seven industrialised countries can discuss international policy issues in a small group.

The G7 comprises Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Japan, Canada and the US. The European Union is also represented at all G7 meetings. The Group of Eight (G8) comprised the above countries and Russia between 1998 and 2014.

Several G7 meetings are held every year at different levels, during which the member countries coordinate joint positions in a variety of policy areas.

The Presidency of the G7 rotates annually among the members.

The G7 activities in environmental policy

Climate and environmental issues have long been an integral part of the G7 agenda. Important issues come up again and again, including forest conservation, marine protection and the fight against environmental crime, but the main focus is on current economically relevant topics.

In addition to the annual summits of the heads of state and government, the G7 environment and climate ministers have also met over the past years to discuss key environmental and climate topics.

Under the German, Japanese and Italian presidencies in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively, the G7 addressed environmental, climate and energy issues at joint meetings of the responsible ministers.

Outcomes of G7 meetings

Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider took part in the G7 Environment Ministers' Meeting in Paris. The meeting focussed on issues such as strengthening marine conservation and protection, tackling illegal fishing, financing biodiversity measures and enhancing protection of global water resources. Discussions also addressed ways to make buildings more resilient in the face of climate change. The ministers also discussed further implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
Minister Schneider at G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Paris
(Press release from 22.04.2026)
Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider and Julie Dabrusin, Canadian Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
At the G7 Environment Ministers' Meeting in Toronto, Canada, the ministers agreed on a Circular Economy Action Plan, continued close cooperation on negotiations on an international plastics treaty and close collaboration ahead of the UN Water Conference in 2026. Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider also met with Julie Dabrusin, Canadian Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.
Outcomes of the 2024 G7 meetings
The most recent G7 meeting of climate, energy and environment ministers took place on 29 and 30 April in Turin, Italy. The communiqué that was adopted reiterated the G7’s determination to combat the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
In the field of environment, the G7 sent a strong message in support of a global and legally binding plastics agreement by the end of 2024, and for the first time called for the reduction of global primary plastic production and consumption. It also reinforced its objective from the previous year to end additional plastic pollution by 2040 through concrete measures. In the fight against the global water crisis, the G7 wants to improve coordination, combine forces and generate momentum for global water policy. To this end, the group founded the G7 Water Coalition. The G7 also announced its intention to ratify the BBNJ Agreement, preferably before the next UN Ocean Conference in June 2025. It reaffirmed its determination to drive forward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biological Framework (GBF) and repeated its call for all financial flows to be aligned with the objectives of the GBF.
By adopting the decisions on biodiversity conservation and climate action as well as sustainable land and water management, the G7 also sent a strong signal to the G20 and the three meetings of the Conferences of the Parties in the fields of environmental protection and climate action that took place in 2024: the UN Climate Change Conference in December Azerbaijan, the UN Biodiversity Conference at the end of October in Colombia and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification that took place in December in Saudi Arabia.
In the fields of climate and energy, the G7 agreed on a specific timeline for the phase-out of coal, a key milestone in the global move away from fossil fuels. To execute the agreement made in 2023 at COP28, to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, the G7 set itself targets for the expansion of storage facilities and grids and intensified its cooperation with partner countries. With regard to the new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the G7 focused in particular on further raising the level of ambition of all major emitters and supporting countries in the Global South that are particularly hard hit by climate change.
The summit of the G7 heads of state and government took place from 13 to 16 June in Apulia. The triple planetary crisis was mentioned in the preamble to the Leaders’ Communiqué as one of the major challenges we are facing. Key aspects of the G7 climate, energy and environment ministers’ communiqués in Turin were also included. The G7 heads of state and government reaffirmed their backing and call for a highly ambitious global agreement on plastic pollution by the end of 2024. They also emphasised their intention to fully implement the GBF, in particular with a view to CBD COP 15 in Colombia in 2024, and restated their commitment to increasing funding for nature by 2025.
More information
Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers' Meeting Communiqué (external webpage)
Annex to Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers' Meeting Communiqué (external webpage)
Outcomes of the 2023 G7 meetings
In 2023, the G7 climate, energy and environment ministers met on 15 and 16 April in Sapporo, Japan. They were able to agree on an ambitious communiqué in Sapporo, which sent a powerful message in the fight against biodiversity loss, plastic pollution and the climate crisis. In their communiqué, the ministers committed to ending additional plastic pollution by 2040, exceeding the 2050 target set by the G20 members in 2019.
The G7 ministers also agreed to drive forward the Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in Montreal. They reaffirmed the target of placing 30 percent of terrestrial and marine areas under protection by 2030.
In the energy and climate section of the communiqué, they pushed for the expansion of renewable energies by agreeing for the first time on a collective target for expansion and on phasing out all fossil fuels. The communiqué highlighted the importance of resource efficiency and circular economy for reducing primary resource consumption and tackling the triple planetary crisis. For the first time, the G7 ministers acknowledged and announced their intention to tap the potential of resource efficiency and circular economy to achieve the climate targets. The G7 countries additionally dedicated a separate section to the pollution crisis.
In light of Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, the ministers opened their communiqué with a clear declaration of the G7 countries’ solidarity with Ukraine.
The G7 Summit of the heads of state and government from 19 to 21 May in Hiroshima reaffirmed the G7’s strong support for Ukraine. The preamble also highlighted specific G7 steps. The environment and climate section of the communiqué sets out the goal of preserving the planet is outlined, to be realised by accelerating the decarbonisation of the energy sector, expanding renewable energy, ending plastic pollution (which includes the G7 target on plastic pollution), protecting the oceans and intensifying cooperation through Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), the Climate Club and new Country Packages for Forest, Nature and Climate. The communiqué prioritised cooperation to speed up achievement of the SDGs, in the recognition that alleviating poverty and tackling the climate and nature crisis go hand in hand. It should be noted that both crises are given equal importance here.
More information
G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers’ Communiqué (external webpage)
Outcomes of the 2022 G7 meetings
The G7 climate, energy and environment ministers met from 25 to 27 May in Berlin, hosted by the German Presidency. In the final declaration, the ministers sent a strong message for more climate action, with a view to the 1.5-degree limit and in solidarity with the countries hit hardest by climate change. The G7 made a first-time commitment to the goal of predominantly decarbonised electricity sectors by 2035. Beyond that, it committed to phasing out coal-fired power generation.
The most important policy success, in light of the wave of mass extinction, was agreement within the G7 on conserving biodiversity. The message was clear: a new global biodiversity framework had to be adopted in 2022, as global biodiversity loss is progressing rapidly and the consequences are catastrophic. Beyond this, the G7 also emphasised the potential positive interplay between biodiversity conservation measures and pandemic prevention.
National and international funding for nature was to be significantly increased by 2025. The G7 committed to mobilising funding from all sources, including public sources. It also pledged to implement nature-based solutions while observing robust social and environmental standards. To achieve this goal at national level, in 2022, the Federal Environment Ministry presented an Action Plan supported by four billion euros.
The G7 also sent a joint signal for ambitious protection and conservation of the ocean. They concluded the G7 Ocean Deal, a legally binding instrument on the protection of biodiversity in the high seas and environmental standards in deep sea mining. In future, the G7 countries will only support deep sea mining if it does not cause serious environmental harm.
With the Berlin Roadmap, the G7 ministers adopted an ambitious 3-year work plan containing concrete measures to enhance resource efficiency. Cooperation in all relevant sectors should be intensified with the goal of a true circular economy. The G7 countries also agreed on measures to strengthen global sustainable chemicals management. These affirmations by the G7 gave momentum to the International Conference on Chemicals Management, which was held in September 2023 in Bonn under German Presidency.
Leaders’ Communiqué
The Leaders’ Communiqué addressed the key environmental concerns of the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers’ Communiqué: the joint consideration of the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, the pledge to significantly increase national and international biodiversity financing by 2025, the phase out of subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity by CBD Parties among the G7, and the adoption of an ambitious biodiversity framework in 2022 before its timely implementation. The communiqué also supports the G7 Ocean Deal and the Berlin Roadmap and strengthens the G7’s commitment to sustainable and deforestation-free supply chains.
More information
G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers' Communiqué
G7 Berlin Roadmap on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy
G7 Ocean Deal
Outcomes of the 2021 G7 meetings
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 meeting of the G7 environment ministers was held virtually on 20 and 21 May under the UK Presidency. In a joint final document, the environment ministers agreed on ambitious goals and measures for climate change mitigation and environmental protection. For the first time, the G7 clearly linked climate action to combating biodiversity loss, and hence to efforts to prevent future pandemics. They laid down the joint goal of placing 30 percent of terrestrial and marine areas under protection by 2030. To keep the target of limiting the global rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in their final communiqué, the G7 ministers committed to climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. Another breakthrough was achieved in international funding for coal. All G7 countries committed to stop funding coal-fired power plants abroad.
The key points of the meeting of the environment ministers were addressed by the heads of state and government at the G7 Summit from 11 to 13 June 2021 in Cabris Bay. Climate and environmental issues were a key part of the communiqué. The heads of state and government adopted the G7 Nature Compact to halt and reverse global loss of biodiversity by 2030. This represented a new approach to important biodiversity issues by the G7 leaders.
More information
G7 Climate and Environment Ministers’ Meeting Communiqué (external webpage)
G7 Ocean Decade Navigation Plan (external webpage)
Results of the G7 meeting 2019
The G7 Summit in Biarritz, France, highlighted the growing sense of urgency to tackle pressing environmental challenges and the climate crisis. The French Presidency emphasised the important role played by the scientific community, referring to the IPBES and IPCC reports.
The Presidency named biodiversity loss, marine pollution and soil degradation as interconnected global challenges and pointed out the ability of the G7 and its partners’ to lead on pressing issues, even though each country can choose its own path to energy transformation and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
With regard to climate change mitigation, the urgent need to take action and achieve the 1.5 degree target was highlighted. The outcome document notes that some countries have already announced their intention to raise their level of ambition within the UNFCCC – that is, their NDCs – but that additional efforts will be required beyond this. The role of the NDC partnership was recognised by some heads of state and government.
Biodiversity conservation and marine protection also played a key role at the Biarritz summit. The G7 approved the G7 Metz Charter on Biodiversity, which the G7 environment ministers had previously adopted at their meeting, and promised individual or joint activities in the lead-up to CBD COP 15. The G7 also agreed on the need to preserve terrestrial and marine ecosystems using nature-based solutions and a transition towards circular economy, and to combat marine litter, with a particular focus on plastic and microplastics.
More information
G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting Communiqué
Metz Charter on Biodiversity
Concrete initiatives - Outcome document
Declaration on Halting Deforestation Including through Sustainable Supply Chains for Agricultural Commodities
Outcomes of the 2018 G7 meetings
During their meeting in Halifax, Canada on 18 and 19 September 2018, the G7 environment ministers discussed issues related to climate action, circular economy and resource efficiency with representatives of this year's G7 partner countries, international organisations and industry. The programme for the meeting also included a round table on sustainable finance with high-level representatives, predominantly from the Canadian finance sector, industry and the scientific community.
On 20 September 2018, the G7 environment ministers came together with the G7 ministers responsible for energy and ocean issues to discuss marine litter, resource efficiency, illegal fishing, making coasts and coastal communities more resilient and protecting marine biodiversity. The G7 ministers adopted a joint paper entitled the G7 Innovation Challenge to Address Marine Plastic Litter. The paper contains national and international measures to promote research and innovation in the field of marine pollution and plastic litter and to intensify cooperation with the Global South. The paper contains national and international measures to promote research and innovation in this field and to intensify cooperation with the Global South.
The G7 also agreed to make remote sensing data, for example satellite observation data, more accessible and usable with a view to strengthening the resilience of coastal areas and communities against extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change and to improving coastal zone management. The paper, entitled G7 Initiative on Earth Observation and Integrated Coastal Zone Management, includes an annex with a list of all existing and planned relevant earth observation missions. The outcomes of the ministerial meetings were recorded by Canada in the respective chairs’ summaries.
More information
Chair’s Summary: G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting
Chairs’ Summary: G7 Joint Ministerial Session on Healthy Oceans, Seas and Resilient Communities
G7 Innovation Challenge to address Marine Plastic Litter
G7 Initiative on Earth Observation and Integrated Coastal Zone Management

Last updated: 04.05.2026

G7 – Group of Seven

The G7 activities in environmental policy

Outcomes of G7 meetings

01 G7 meeting in 2026 in Parisopenclose

02 G7 meeting in 2025 in Toronto, Canadaopenclose

03 Outcomes of the 2024 G7 meetingsopenclose

04 Outcomes of the 2023 G7 meetingsopenclose

05 Outcomes of the 2022 G7 meetingsopenclose

06 Outcomes of the 2021 G7 meetingsopenclose

07 Results of the G7 meeting 2019openclose

08 Outcomes of the 2018 G7 meetingsopenclose

More information on the G7 and G20

Further information

Policy-making in dialogue