Merkel: G-7 leaders call for ending fossil fuel use by end of century

ELMAU, Germany – German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the Group of Seven wealthy democracies have agreed that the world should phase out the use of fossil fuels by the end of this century.

Merkel said today that the G-7 leaders committed themselves to the need to “decarbonize the global economy in the course of this century.”

That is a technical term for ending the use of oil, gas and coal — but not nuclear power — and replacing them with alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar power.

Merkel had pressed for the G-7 to agree on the goal so it can be put forward at a summit on climate change later this year in Paris. Burning carbon-based fuels such as oil and gas releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is blamed for global warming.