LONDON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) have agreed to transform their economies to promote sustainable development, deliver decent green jobs and build resilience, according to a communique released on Friday.
The document was released after the G7 ministers responsible for climate and environment met virtually on May 20 to 21.
"We will do this by building back better from the pandemic, and we stress our determination to put climate, biodiversity, and the environment at the heart of our COVID-19 recovery strategies and investments. In doing so, we will transform our economies to promote sustainable development," they said in the document.
Regarding deforestation and forest degradation, the ministers said, "We commit to urgent action to conserve, protect and restore natural ecosystems including forests and habitat connectivity and promote sustainable forest management. We also commit to implement decarbonization pathways that do not cause further biodiversity loss or deforestation."
The G7 has also agreed to increase the quantity of finance for climate action, including for nature, in order to meet the 100-billion-U.S.-dollar per annum target to support developing countries.
"As we recover from the pandemic we are focused on building back greener -- creating jobs and prosperity, without harming the planet," said Alok Sharma, the president-designate of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), in a statement.
The international community, including both developing and developed countries, already recognized the importance of joining hands in tackling climate change. In 2021, China and Britain will host the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) and the COP26, respectively. Enditem
