Working Group

The C7 Working Group on Climate and Environmental Justice aims to ensure that the mandatory measures and concrete actions of the Paris Agreement as well as the Sustainable Development Goals are ambitiously pursued and implemented by the G7 governments based on their fair shares. Strong commitments and specific global policy and implementation measures are needed to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Moreover, climate finance has to be significantly increased, especially for climate change adaptation.

Climate-induced disasters such as droughts, floods and storms are already among the strongest drivers of poverty and inequality. They pose great risks and immense challenges for livelihoods, especially for people in low-income countries.

The Working Group on Climate and Environmental Justice thus focuses on topics such as adaptation to climate change, climate finance, the equitable phase-out of fossil fuel, enabling just transition and addressing biodiversity loss.

Coordinators:

• Risa Endo (Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society, JACSES)
• Harjeet Singh (Climate Action Network)

In the fourth year of the pandemic and in light of the war in Ukraine, the human toll mounts while the world faces severe economic and financial consequences from the crises – both inside the G7 and across the Global South. The multiple crises are undermining the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and worsen global inequalities, poverty and hunger.

Above all, it is clear that the economic models of the past are unsuitable for the future. Hyper-globalization, deregulated free trade, globalized supply chains, digital economy run by Big Tech and economic growth at any price have served the economic interests of a happy few.

The C7 Working Group on Economic Justice and Transformation advocates for green and just transition towards a society and an economy based on the principles of sufficiency, sustainability of life and human rights,

Issues that this Group will deal with include trade, international finance, fair tax policy, digital economy, business and human rights, access to concessional finance (Special Drawing Rights, Official Development Assistance), and mechanisms for the debt relief and debt restructuring.

The issues addressed by this WG are closely related to many issues such as food sovereignty, gender equality, workers’ rights, climate crisis, global health, etc. Therefore, we will address these issues cross-cutting as much as possible.

Coordinators:

• Shoko Uchida (Pacific Asia Resource Center, PARC)
• Aldo Caliari (Jubilee USA Network)

After three years of a global pandemic and over 6.68 million COVID-19 deaths worldwide (as of 10th January 2023), the global health agenda has become an increasing priority in the G7 dialogue. The C7 Global Health Working Group will promote measures that put human rights, gender equality, equity, global solidarity and responsibility of the Global North at the core of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, with the needs of key populations in it’s centre.

To address inequalities in access to COVID-19 and other health services, health and community systems must be strengthened locally and at the national, regional and global level. The efforts on R&D, equitable access to medical countermeasures, as well as preventive approaches should be strengthened to face all health challenges including such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). To leave no one behind, it is essential to ensure universal health coverage (UHC) and universal access to COVID-19 tools. This must be delivered while addressing long-standing global health challenges of today in order to ward off the pandemics of tomorrow. The gap between what was promised to the Global South and what was ultimately implemented by rich countries is appalling. It has to be closed, for example by helping to remove intellectual property barriers and encouraging the sharing of COVID-19 health technologies.

In the era of pandemic, resilience in health should be more comprehensively addressed, including non-communicable diseases (NCDs), mental health, aging and dementia. Given that biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and climate change have been affecting people’s health, we need to focus more on the One Health approach in order to guarantee planetary health.

At the same time, existing pandemics and health issues, such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and programmes targeting the needs of vulnerable populations, as well as the serious impacts of ongoing wars on people’s health and the situation of people on the move must not be forgotten. The right to health,, with more comprehensive consideration on the social determinants, including access to water, sanitation and nutrition. International cooperation on these agendas must be fostered and adequately financed. World leaders, reunited in the G7 this year, have the obligation and opportunity to progress towards the long promised delivery of health for all.

Coordinators:

• Masaki Inaba (Africa Japan Forum, AJF)
• Stefania Burbo (Global Health Italian Network)

At the start of 2023, 339 million people in the world need humanitarian assistance and protection, a staggering 24% increase from the same time in 2022. This means that globally, one in every 23 people now needs humanitarian assistance. The climate crisis, violent conflict and rising food and fuel prices are driving the largest global food crisis in modern history and about two thirds of refugees and asylum-seekers originate from countries with food crises. This impacts the world’s most vulnerable people, particularly women and children, first and worst.
The humanitarian system continues to stretch to cover increasing needs, at the same time as the space for humanitarian action is under pressure within a complex and politicised environment. The humanitarian system is also grappling with how to increase the voice and agency given to those affected by crisis, the role and leadership of local actors in preparedness and response and the way the system relates to other political, development and climate processes.
The C7 Working Group on Humanitarian Assistance and Conflict aims to continue to raise awareness of critical humanitarian issues and ensure these remain a priority in civil society and the dialogue with the G7. Topics covered in this Working Group include strengthening quality and accountability, financing for humanitarian aid, building a more effective and efficient humanitarian system.

Coordinators:

• Yuko Shibata (Japan Platform)
• Jeremy Wellard (ICVA)

The C7 Working Group on Open and Resilient Societies focuses on responses to human rights violations, discrimination, corruption and restrictions to civil society’s space for action. Activists and civil society organisations around the world advocate for more democratic, just, and open societies, protections for civil society action and civic space, and sustainable development . For years, we have seen closing civic space, a rise and expansion of digital feudalism, anti-democratic practices and authoritarianism, and a lack of accountability and transparency in actions of national governments and multilateral bodies. The Working Group seeks to inform and promote the implementation of policies to protect civil liberties and civic space, to demand leaders to be accountable for their actions and policymaking in both domestic and global affairs. This includes topics such as safeguarding the rights to association and to protest, the transparency of digital technology companies, the prevention of illicit financial flows and the protection of human rights and environment defenders as well as civic space.

Coordinators:

• Hirotaka Koike (Greenpeace Japan)
• Narayan Adhikari (Accountability Lab)

There are about 13,000 nuclear weapons on Earth, endangering the lives of billions of people and environmental catastrophe. With multiple crises involving nuclear armed countries (from Ukraine to Kashmir), nuclear risks are higher than ever. As Prime Minister Kishida of Japan mentioned that the world is now facing the “biggest threat of nuclear weapon use since the Cold War”.

This is the first time heads of state from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,the United Kingdom and the United States, the G7, will meet in Hiroshima, Japan. They cannot dare to leave without a plan to end nuclear weapons.

The C7 Working Group on Nuclear Disarmament aims to get a concrete declaration from the G7 leaders that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable and illegitimate, and they plan to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons. This working group will discuss topics such as the abolition of nuclear weapons, humanitarian aspects of nuclear weapons, assistance towards the victims of nuclear weapons, and the budget and resources allocated on nuclear weapons.

Coordinators:

• Sumiko Hatakeyama (Peace Boat)
• Susi Snyder (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, ICAN)