The Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock (Greens), aims for a mandatory global target for the expansion of renewable energies. She announced this on Tuesday in Berlin at the start of the federal government’s Petersberg climate dialogue. At the two-day meeting, Baerbock said she would like to open a debate on whether a target for power generation from renewable energy sources could be agreed upon at the next world climate conference in the autumn. “The International Energy Agency estimates that we need to triple global renewable energy capacity or the planet’s pain threshold of 1.5 degrees will be significantly exceeded,” said Baerbock.
At the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, ministers from around 40 countries meet to discuss climate protection and prepare for the COP28 world climate conference. This starts at the end of November in the Emirate of Dubai and lasts for two weeks. Baerbock said: “We know we are not doing enough to control the climate crisis.” A course correction is required at COP28.
In Berlin, COP President-designate Sultan Ahmed al-Dschaber committed to the rapid expansion of renewable energy worldwide. “We will accelerate implementation in areas such as renewables, which need to triple their capacity by 2030 and double again by 2040,” said the UAE Minister of Industry, who also runs state oil company Adnoc.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a “worldwide quantum leap in climate action” in a video message. Temperatures could rise 2.8 degrees by the end of the century if current policies continue, he warned. “We’ve looked the other way for too long,” he said, appealing to climate dialogue participants: “Please act now!” Reliance on fossil fuels must be reduced. All states must now “work at full speed”. He called on industrialized countries to provide “enormous financial resources”. “We need a green climate fund,” he said. By the end of COP28, he expects the G20 to commit to further contributions.
Industrialized countries have announced that they would provide US$100 billion in climate aid to the poorest countries each year, but they are paying less than promised. Baerbock has now informed that a meeting between the donor countries and Canada has been organized on Monday “to see how we can finally close the gap”. Now we are on the way “so that we can finally reach the sum of 100 billion US dollars this year”.
Baerbock: “We have to mobilize several trillion.”
According to Baerbock, however, the sum is not enough. “We have to mobilize several trillion,” she said. “Public funds alone will not be able to cover this need, so it is important to mobilize large amounts of private funds.” Along with the US, Germany is committed to reforms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The aim is to make climate finance an integral part of the World Bank’s business model. This should allow for more green investments.
Baerbock also announced talks on debt restructuring for poorer countries particularly affected by climate change. The debt crisis is taking the breath away from the countries most in need of investment to tackle the climate crisis, she said. All creditors across the world are responsible.
The Petersberg Climate Dialogue is named after the conference’s first venue in 2010 in Königswinter, near Bonn; the event is now taking place in Berlin. This year’s organizers are Germany and the United Arab Emirates, hosts of COP28. A speech by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled for this Wednesday at the climate dialogue.
Review by Luisa Neubauer and Greenpeace
Foreign Minister Baerbock expects solutions from the meeting. The Petersberg Climate Dialogue is not a normal conference where you end up agreeing on the lowest common denominator, but a working conference that brings together those who really want to do something, she said.
Ahead of the climate dialogue, climate activist Luisa Neubauer and Greenpeace criticized the fact that COP28 was led by a top executive from an oil company. Given Sultan al-Dschaber’s presidency of the COP, it will be difficult to maintain the integrity of the conference, Neubauer said. Greenpeace Executive Director Martin Kaiser spoke of a dangerous precedent and an unprecedented conflict of interest. “It’s like the Federal Environment Agency is headed by the head of VW,” he said.
Al-Dschaber, on the other hand, who has been drumming for the conference around the world for months, spoke of an “informative and constructive dialogue” in Berlin. “And I will listen carefully.”
After the small conference in Sharm el-Sheikh last November, several important decisions are pending in Dubai. For the first time, states must take stock of credits and debits on climate protection – including tightening their past targets. The fund, with which future damages and losses will be paid in the poorest countries, still needs a concrete form, while rich countries urgently need to keep their commitments of billions of dollars for climate protection. The first thing to do now is to regain confidence, said al-Dschaber. “Expectations are high, confidence is very low.”