German, French and UK environment and climate ministers hold talks in Berlin
Federal Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen held talks today in Berlin with his colleagues Jean-Luis Borloo, the French Ecology and Energy Minister, and Chris Huhne, the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to discuss international climate policy for the coming months. The ministers agreed that the need for action in international climate protection remains as urgent as ever, even though other topics currently dominate the global political agenda.
"We believe that there is no alternative to climate negotiations under the umbrella of the United Nations", stated Minister Röttgen on behalf of all three ministers. "Climate-friendly development is the future for all countries. To this end we need a global, solid framework. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún in December we can adopt a package of decisions. And we need a work programme for the time after Cancún. Additionally, we want to support negotiations through concrete practical initiatives and cooperation with individual countries", he continued.
The package that can be decided on in Cancún includes decisions on immediate practical action for adapting to the impacts of climate change, on preventing emissions from deforestation and agreements on how mitigation efforts by countries can be measured, reported and verified. France and Norway have launched an initiative to reduce emissions from deforestation. Germany and South Africa are cooperating in the framework of an initiative on mitigation and reporting with like-minded countries.
"Europe is demonstrating how economic success and climate-friendly development can go hand in hand. In a joint article we recently explained that Europe benefits economically by setting an emissions reduction target of 30 percent by 2020 compared with 1990. We want to motivate other countries to pursue this climate-friendly development model. And with the funding pledged in Copenhagen we are supporting developing countries in taking this development path."
The three ministers welcomed the report from the InterAcademy Council on the IPCC. The report highlights the high-quality scientific work of the IPCC while at the same time recommending some specific improvements, particularly regarding management and communicating uncertainties. "We need a sound scientific basis. This is the only way to successfully shape the far-reaching restructuring process and to create employment and development prospects in our economies", commented Minister Röttgen.