German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has assured Ukraine of the support of the G7 of leading democratic economic powers. The G7 stand “closely and steadfastly on the side of Ukraine,” said Scholz at the end of the G7 summit in Elmau, Bavaria. This applies both to the current war situation and arms deliveries and to reconstruction after the Russian invasion. The group of states, therefore, wants to draw up a “Marshall Plan for Ukraine”. Further aid funds should also be mobilized for this purpose.

According to Scholz, the second significant result of the summit is the fight against global hunger, which has been exacerbated above all by the Russian war of aggression. Specifically, the heads of state and government pledged an additional 4.3 billion euros to help those most affected by hunger and malnutrition. According to their own statements, the seven large democratic industrialized countries will have a total of more than 13 billion euros this year. However, according to the UN, the equivalent of 44 billion euros is needed to contain the current food crisis effectively.

In addition, the G7 support all efforts to unblock Ukrainian ports and create safe corridors for grain exports. Finally, the G7 want to help identify grain illegally exported from Ukraine.

The group also backed the idea of an international “climate club.” According to Scholz, this should be established by the end of 2022. The club should aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including measuring and recording them. They also want to reduce production relocation to other countries with more lax climate requirements.

Another goal should be the climate-friendly conversion of industry. With energy partnerships, the economically strong G7 countries want to help poorer countries with expertise and money in the transition to a more climate-friendly economy. The merger will be open to countries committed to implementing the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

Image by OSCE (Flickr)/Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)