Canada's minister of environment and climate change has expressed expectations for the Group of Seven nations to agree on a date to phase out coal-fired power plants.

Steven Guilbeault spoke to NHK in Tokyo on Thursday, ahead of the G7 ministerial meeting on climate, energy and the environment. The two-day meeting starts on Saturday in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo.

Guilbeault stressed the importance of the G7 taking the initiative to boost global momentum to fight climate change.

He said, "Not only do we need to be ambitious, but we need to collectively accelerate our work to reduce climate change emissions."

G7 participants are divided over whether to set a date to phase out coal-fired power plants. Japan maintains that the plants should still play a role in the future.

Guilbeault said he recognizes it is a challenge for a number of countries, including Japan.

But he expressed hope to see "strong language" that supports a coal phase out in the final communique "as far as Canada is concerned."

He said Canada will serve as a bridge builder, and try and find ways to help countries agree on coal.