Brussels, 19/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - France and Germany were as one after the sixth Petersberg Climate Dialogue, in Berlin on Tuesday 19 May. The two countries said that they were “firmly decided to take all efforts to reach an ambitious, comprehensive and binding UN climate agreement by the end of this year in Paris” and restated their commitment to the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to two degrees Celsius, urging all the countries of the world to show ambition.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who chaired this informal meeting of environment ministers from some 35 countries to prepare for the UN Paris conference (COP 21, December 2015) and French President François Hollande, who will chair the COP 21 conference, issued a joint call to all countries to “join us in this endeavour” by accepting their fair share of the collective effort needed to keep the temperature rise below two degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. At this stage, much remains to be done.
“We will see in Paris that far greater commitment is needed if we are really to achieve the two degrees Celsius goal that is currently on the table”, warned Merkel. “It is our duty to succeed”, stressed Hollande, underlining that time is of the essence and that climate change is “a threat but also a great opportunity to devise a different development model” (our translation).
In the joint statement published after the meeting, Merkel and Hollande stress that “urgent action and an ambitious global framework are needed to put us on a path consistent with this goal. We need a fundamental shift of investments into low-carbon infrastructure, technologies and climate-friendly land use”.
The two countries highlight the need to strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable countries and say that they are “convinced that investments, strategies and legislation to achieve this transformation will foster prosperity, growth and sustainable development worldwide”.
Chancellor Merkel said that her country was looking to double the amount it devotes to climate action by 2020 compared with 2014.
Germany and France call for a shared vision to be established and for concrete action to transform the global economy to achieve full decarbonisation over the course of this century. They call on all countries to submit “ambitious and transparent” nationally-determined climate contributions (INDCs) well in advance of the Paris conference.
They urge the parties to the negotiations to mobilise the funds necessary to meet the pledge made by the industrialised countries of making available $100 billion per year by 2020 to support the adaptation and mitigation efforts of developing countries. Germany and France also hope that systems similar to the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS) will grow in other countries and regions of the world, facilitating the shift to a decarbonised economy in the course of the 21st century.
The two countries reiterate their commitment to the target of an 80-95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, compared with 1990 levels.
“An ambitious climate deal in Paris is within reach”, tweeted European Climate Action Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete on Tuesday.
The first meeting of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, an initiative from Chancellor Merkel, was held in May 2010 as a follow-up to the UN climate conference in Copenhagen (COP 15) and as preparation for the following conference (COP 16, Cancun). (Aminata Niang)