The Group of Seven industrial powers reaffirmed their commitment Friday to swift ratification and entry into force of last year's landmark Paris climate pact, while Japan managed to keep the Fukushima nuclear disaster from taking center stage.
The Paris Agreement struck last December at the COP21 climate conference seeks to limit a rise in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius. It is described by the European Commission as "the first-ever universal, legally binding" global climate framework.
"The G-7, continuing to take a leadership role, commits to taking the necessary steps to secure ratification, acceptance or approval of the Paris Agreement as soon as possible, and calls on all Parties to do so striving for a goal of entry into force in 2016," the leaders said in a communique as the two-day G-7 summit at the Ise-Shima resort in Mie Prefecture drew to a close.