‘No room for fossil fuels in climate-vulnerable developing countries’: G7 nations must reject the rollout of false energy transition technologies

A statement by Trend Asia and a coalition of 39 other organizations urging G7 nations to stop promoting and financing fossil fuel-based 'energy transition' technologies in developing countries, specifically criticizing Japan's Green Transformation (GX) policy.

• G7 nations are accused of continuing to fund fossil fuel projects despite global phase-out calls. Between 2020 and 2022, G7 public finance for new fossil fuel projects totaled USD 73 billion, which was 2.6 times the amount provided for clean energy. While the UK, Canada, and France are noted as having met commitments to end this finance, Japan, Italy, and Germany have not, and the US has not made its policy public.
• The document specifically criticizes Japan's Green Transformation (GX) policy, which seeks to mobilize over USD 1.1 trillion in public and private capital over ten years. The authors argue this policy promotes 'false energy transition solutions'—including LNG, carbon capture and storage, and the co-firing of ammonia, hydrogen, and biomass—that rely on fossil fuels and will not help Southeast Asia reach net zero.
• The coalition argues that ammonia co-firing is an ineffective tool for emission reduction because most ammonia is produced from coal and gas. They state that even at a technologically feasible co-firing rate of 20% ammonia and 80% coal, the technology fails to cut emissions sufficiently to reach net-zero targets in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
• The statement demands that G7 nations stop financing fossil gas in Southeast Asia, asserting that fossil gas is not a transition fuel but a risk that leads to stranded assets and debt traps. It notes that Japan, France, the UK, the US, Germany, and Italy are among the top financiers of post-Paris Agreement fossil gas projects in the region.

APA

Trend Asia (2023). ‘No room for fossil fuels in climate-vulnerable developing countries’: G7 nations must reject the rollout of false energy transition technologies. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/G7-Sign-On-Letter.pdf

Chicago

Trend Asia. ‘No room for fossil fuels in climate-vulnerable developing countries’: G7 nations must reject the rollout of false energy transition technologies. 2023. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/G7-Sign-On-Letter.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Trend Asia |title=‘No room for fossil fuels in climate-vulnerable developing countries’: G7 nations must reject the rollout of false energy transition technologies |date=14 April 2023 |url=https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/G7-Sign-On-Letter.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{trendasia2023room, author = {{Trend Asia}}, title = {{‘No room for fossil fuels in climate-vulnerable developing countries’: G7 nations must reject the rollout of false energy transition technologies}}, publisher = {Trend Asia}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/G7-Sign-On-Letter.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }