The G7 heads of state came together for their sixth (virtual) meeting under the German presidency. "This figure alone," said Federal Chancellor Scholz as the German G7 Presidency comes to an end, "demonstrates how closely we have coordinated our efforts this year with our partners who share our values."

Support for Ukraine and a just peace

"We are all committed to supporting Ukraine and to achieving a just peace. We condemn Russia's brutal actions,” the G7 heads of state and government emphasised following their meeting. And once again they are calling on President Putin to stop the senseless killing in Ukraine and finally withdraw his troops. Scholz underlined the fact that, by coordinating their efforts closely, the world's economically strongest democracies had succeeded in providing concrete help to Ukraine and isolating Russia's President Putin.

To download the statement made by the heads of state an d government after the virtual conference please click PDF, 105 KB, non-accessible here.

Building upon the International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernisation of Ukraine in October, the G7 today agreed on a platform for coordinating financial support from all donors. The aim is to rebuild Ukraine with the participation of Ukraine itself as well as international financial institutions and other partners. This, they said, was "a task for the whole of humanity, which is perhaps comparable to the Marshall Plan in the wake of the Second World War". The G7 recently introduced an oil price cap with the aim of further reducing Moscow's state revenue from oil exports and increasing pressure on President Putin.

The G7 Summit was held in Elmau between 26 and 28 June. Germany’s presidency was conducted under the motto “Progress towards a just world.” The summit demonstrated just how powerful democratic alliances can be. This, said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the end of the three-day meeting, was made clear in the final declaration as well as in the other statements made by the G7 countries and their partners.

G7 found climate club

Notwithstanding the Russian war of aggression and its consequences, the G7 countries are not losing sight of other global challenges. On Monday, the G7 heads of state and government adopted a resolution to establish a climate club in order to tackle climate change. The concept of an open, collaborative international club originated in an initiative presented by Germany at the G7 summit in Elmau in June after which much effort was put into developing the concept.

The G7 countries are inviting interested countries with ambitious climate policies to join the so-called Club 2023 and to contribute to its development. At their sixth meeting under the German presidency, the G7 agreed on a common set of rules – the so-called "Terms of Reference”, which form the basis for the further expansion of the climate club in the coming year as well as its initial implementation phase. Together with the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will now set up an interim secretariat for the climate club. According to Scholz, many partners at the Climate Change Conference in Sharm-El-Sheikh showed great interest in this club.

Japan will assume the G7 Presidency on 1 January 2023 and Federal Chancellor Scholz expressed his conviction that they will continue to pursue the initiatives introduced this year with great commitment . The plan is to expand the climate club to include other important states in the coming year.