Chancellor Olaf Scholz is pushing for a decision on globally binding targets for the expansion of renewable energies at the next climate conference. At the end of the Petersberg climate dialogue in Berlin, the SPD politician called for “tripling the expansion” by 2030. “In this way we would send a clear signal to the real and financial economy as to where the journey is going.” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had previously campaigned for a global expansion goal.
Representatives from more than 40 countries came together in Berlin to prepare for the World Climate Conference, which begins in the Emirate of Dubai at the end of November. The designated president of the climate conference, Sultan Ahmed al-Dschaber, also committed himself to the rapid expansion of renewable energies in the German capital and cited figures similar to those of Scholz: “We will accelerate implementation in areas such as renewables, which will have to triple their capacity by 2030 and double again by 2040.”
Scholz: Two billion euros for the Green Climate Fund
Every year since 2010, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue has brought together a selection of countries to prepare for the World Climate Conference. In Dubai, the world community is to take stock of their efforts so far and measure them against the goals that were agreed at the Paris climate conference in 2015. The plan to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times is now considered almost impossible to achieve.
Therefore, at the two-day meeting in Berlin, options were discussed to speed up the phase-out of fossil fuels such as coal and gas and to advance the use of wind and solar energy. It is also about financial aid for poorer countries.
Scholz pledged two billion euros for the Green Climate Fund, which will benefit emerging and developing countries. They should use the money to finance climate protection projects, adapt to climate change and build a more climate-friendly economy. As a result of the Chancellor’s commitment, Germany is the first major donor to announce its contribution to the financing conference, which is scheduled to take place in Bonn at the beginning of October.
Neubauer: “Exit from all fossil fuels”
Scholz also sees the international climate club, which he initiated, on the right track. It is about “pragmatic solutions for climate protection, also beyond the important energy sector,” said the Chancellor. “We want to bring as many ambitious countries as possible together to advance the climate-friendly development of their industry.” Since the club was founded last December, Argentina, Indonesia and Colombia have joined alongside Chile as co-chairs.
However, climate activist Luisa Neubauer accused Scholz of hiding the “inconvenient truth”. Investments in renewable energy are not enough: “We also need a radical phase-out of all fossil fuels.” Martin Kaiser from the environmental protection organization Greenpeace complained that the chancellor wanted to cover up political failures: “As welcome as the financial commitment for the Green Climate Fund is, it becomes implausible if the federal government continues to support controversial gas drilling in Australia, Senegal or off Borkum.”
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) is relying on nature in the fight against the climate-damaging greenhouse gas carbon dioxide: “Healthy ecosystems – forests and moors, seas and floodplains – bind CO2 from the air and store it in the long term,” she said, according to the official text of the speech at the climate dialogue. That’s why she wants to support other countries with “nature-based solutions” – such as strengthening forests and a more sustainable form of land use.
