Final answer:
To store the total charges in an online shopping cart, the Python statement would be total_charges = 0.0, using a float data type for decimal values and initializing the variable to zero.
Step-by-step explanation:
To create and initialize a variable in Python that will store the total charges in an online shopping cart, you can use the following statement:
total_charges = 0.0
In this statement, total_charges is a meaningful variable name representing the total cost in the shopping cart. The data type used here is a float, indicated by the initial value 0.0, which can accommodate any decimal charges that might occur. Proper initialization is important to ensure that the variable starts with a valid value, in this case, zero, representing that the cart is initially empty before any items have been added.