The sharp reduction in emissions projections suggests that industries like coal, oil and gas could experience a significant shift in demand. Martin Kaiser, head of international climate politics at Greenpeace, argued that the G7 leaders’ decision signals the end of the age of fossil fuels.
“The vision of a 100% renewable energy future is starting to take shape while spelling out the end of coal,” Kaiser said, according to renews. “The decisions made by the G7 today indicated an acknowledgement that there needs to be a phase-out of climate-killing coal and oil by 2050 at the latest.”
Coal stocks have been steadily declining, with the Market Vectors-Coal ETF (NYSEArca: KOL), which tracks the coal industry, down 14.8% year-to-date and 31.6% over the past year. Meanwhile, renewable energy ETFs have been strengthening. Year-to-date, PBW gained 8.8%, QCLN rose 13.2%, GEX increased 17.0% and PBD advanced 16.3%. [Coal ETF Outlook Growing Dim]
For more information on the renewables space, visit our renewable energy category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.