The Ukraine war overshadows almost everything – but climate change doesn’t stop either. Olaf Scholz and Annalena Baerbock have to manage a crisis balancing act in the “Climate Dialogue”.
Berlin – 40 countries are debating the climate in Germany – and even at the “Petersberg Climate Dialogue” in Berlin there is no avoiding the topic of the Ukraine war: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) sees the crisis indirectly as a danger to the climate, how he emphasized. At the start of the conference in the Federal Foreign Office, his Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) left no doubt as to what she believes to be the greatest crisis of our time: the change in the global climate.
However, as an ambitious summit host, Germany also faced a particular dilemma: In view of the looming gas crisis, the traffic light government is reactivating coal-fired power plants, among other things. However, this should not be a role model or even a permanent solution. The traffic light coalition could also feel addressed by a warning from the co-host: the “current situation” should not be “an excuse” for not keeping promises, said Egypt’s Foreign Minister Samih Schukri. This applies in particular to support for developing countries.
Petersberg climate dialogue: Baerbock demands results within eight years – and sees the need for industrialized countries
Up to and including Tuesday (July 19), ministers and envoys from all over the world will discuss the fight against climate change. The Petersberg Climate Dialogue still has its name from the first edition of the annual meeting: in 2009 the Federal Government invited to the Petersberg near Bonn. Egypt is co-host this time – because the next climate summit is to take place in November in the coastal town of Sharm el Sheikh.
However, Baerbock tried to make it clear that time is more pressing than it was 13 years ago. “We don’t have 10, 20, 30 years, no, we still have 8 years to cut global emissions by almost half,” she emphasized in her speech. She also addressed opponents of a German climate pioneering role – at least indirectly. Because Baerbock made the industrialized countries in particular responsible. “The industrialized countries have a very special responsibility. Because we are leaders in emissions.” The influence of the Ukraine war quickly overshadowed some of the other speeches. Although Baerbock emphasized: “The climate crisis is now the biggest security problem for everyone on this earth.”
Ukraine war and climate crisis: Chancellor Scholz warns of a “renaissance of fossil energy”
Chancellor Scholz warned of a “global renaissance of fossil fuels” as a result of the gas crisis caused by the Ukraine war. “Nobody can be satisfied with the fact that the proportion of coal-fired power generation is increasing again here,” said the SPD politician. “It is all the more important that we make one thing very clear: This is an emergency measure for a limited period of time that will not be at the expense of our climate goals.” Investments in LNG terminals for liquid gas, for example, should not lead to permanent dependence on fossil fuels.
Because of the Ukraine war and the energy crisis, Germany will not make any compromises in terms of climate protection, emphasized Baerbock. With the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin started against Ukraine, Germany is stepping up its efforts to expand renewable energies. Germany would have to reactivate coal-fired power plants as an emergency reserve for a short period of time – “but only as an emergency reserve,” stressed Baerbock. “But it does not mean that we are giving up our 1.5 degree target. And it also doesn’t mean that we’re slowing down in our drive to expand renewables.”
Scholz at the climate dialogue: Chancellor navigates between the dilemmas – “modernization” should fix it
If the countries of the world do not increase their climate targets now, the 1.5-degree target will not be achievable, warned Egypt’s top diplomat Schukri in Berlin. At the UN climate summit in Glasgow last November, the states committed to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees and to sharpening their national climate targets by the end of the year at the latest.
Scholz also said that if the world does not act much faster, more decisively and more unitedly on climate protection, it will not be possible to enable future generations to lead a good life. But the chancellor also acknowledged another dilemma: At the same time, one could not ask the citizens today to be less mobile. “How should that be possible in a globalized and networked world?” The Chancellor’s “solution” idea: climate protection would succeed “if it makes our lives noticeably better – through a modern, affordable energy supply, for example, through wind turbines and solar systems instead of smoking chimneys, through mobility without exhaust fumes.”
More concrete things could then be heard – albeit on a slightly different topic: the federal government presented a concept for a protective shield against risks and damage in developing countries. Early warning systems in particularly vulnerable countries, precautionary plans and fast financing systems in the event of damage events are being considered. (dpa/fn)
#Scholz #Baerbock #warn #climate #dialogue #middle #coal #comeback