Welcome
Germany at the 30th UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil: Championing climate action, social justice and international cooperation
Joint press release by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Foreign Office
The 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) kicks off on 6 November in Belém, Brazil, with a meeting of heads of state and government, followed by the conference itself from 10 to 22 November. The agenda includes the vigorous implementation of the global energy transition, climate finance, enhanced protection of endangered rainforests, for example through the COP30 Action Agenda, international forest conservation, sustainable management, supply chains and better adaptation to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, it is also time to take stock of the signatories’ new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the period up to 2035. These contributions are an important basis for COP30.
Environment Minister Carsten Schneider and Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan will represent Germany at the conference. The Federal Government has reorganised its international climate policy to ensure it is ideally positioned to combat climate change. When the new government took office, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety assumed lead responsibility for climate. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is now responsible for key areas of the negotiations and many international climate partnerships. The Federal Foreign Office, which spearheaded these efforts over the past three years, continues to be actively involved in climate foreign policy, including through its network of over 50 Core Climate Embassies and its expertise in the climate and security nexus.
Environment Minister Carsten Schneider remarked:
If we compare today’s world with a world without Climate Change Conferences, there is a massive difference. Unlike in the past, there are now technical, economic and social solutions to combat climate change. Renewable energy sources have overtaken coal worldwide, and the cost of renewables continues to fall. More and more countries are introducing emissions trading systems as a way to transform industry to meet climate targets. The mechanism agreed in the Paris Agreement to set new and better targets every five years is working, which is evidenced by the agreement reached today by the EU environment ministers. In other words, there is no reason to be pessimistic. Even though we still have a lot to do, it is important to recognise the progress that has been made and build on it. Germany has not only contributed many practical initiatives to the UN Climate Change Conference, but also an optimistic and positive outlook. Now that the United States has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, it is crucial that we pull together. We can succeed.
Foreign Minister Dr Johann Wadephul commented:
Instead of the Federal Foreign Office, the Environment Ministry will take the lead at the COP in the future. But this does not spell the end to the commitment of the Federal Foreign Office and our missions abroad to combating climate change. After all, climate change poses a threat to our global security, our prosperity and also, at the end of the day, our freedom. Our approach today is different, however. We are placing a greater emphasis on innovation and competitiveness, instead of regulation, and focusing more intensively on playing to our strengths in a targeted manner. It is precisely with this in mind that we are bringing our climate foreign policy to bear as a strategic instrument in the effort to tackle climate change. Climate foreign policy opens the door to new and stronger strategic partnerships around the globe. It plays a key role also with regard to the promotion of foreign trade and investment as German companies are at the forefront of clean technologies, the circular economy and water systems. Goal-oriented pragmatism is what defines our government’s climate policy. This is what defines our climate foreign policy.
Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan said:
The impact of global warming is being felt everywhere, but it is not hitting all countries and people equally hard. What is at stake is whether entire regions will remain fit for people to live in, whether harvests will remain reliable, whether health systems can cope with needs and whether young people feel that they have a future. This is precisely where international cooperation comes in. The Climate Change Conference is the central forum for joint action and sustained progress – it plays a more crucial role than ever before.
The 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) marks the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement. It was agreed there that the signatories would submit new and better contributions to fight climate change every five years. This is now the second time this milepost has been reached. The sum total of these contributions will be measured at the conference against the target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible. One important issue to be addressed at the conference will be how to bridge the foreseeable gap to this target.
Today, the European Union adopted its 2035 climate target unanimously, as required by EU law, and will submit it to the UN Climate Change Secretariat. The EU aims to reduce emissions by at least 66.25% and up to 72.5% compared to 1990 levels by 2035. The upper target is on a straight line between the EU’s existing 2030 target of at least 55% emissions reduction and the 2040 target of 90% reduction, as agreed by the EU Environment Ministers today. The specific measures needed to reach the target will then be aligned with the new target for 2040 once the relevant legislation has been finalised by the member states and the European Parliament.
In addition to the negotiations, Belém will also focus on international cooperation with a view to practical implementation. Germany will initiate and support a number of initiatives, ranging from the promotion of electricity grids for the global energy transition to the protection of forests and peatlands and better adaptation to climate change in developing countries.
The Federal Environment Ministry paper “Fortschritte, die es ohne Klimakonferenzen nicht gegeben hätte” (“Progress that would not have been possible without the Climate Change Conferences”, in German only) is available at https://www.bundesumweltministerium.de/DL3460