Gigaton award ceremony hosted by the World Climate Summit in Durban
At the World Climate Summit taking place in Durban on the fringes of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17), Germany received the Gigaton Award for its progress in expanding the use of renewable energies. The award is presented to progressive companies and, for the first time, countries for their model performance and actual emission reductions. The reasons for awarding Germany were the increase in the share of renewable energies in electricity production from 6.3 percent in 2000 to more than 20 percent in 2011 and the policies which made this development possible.
The annual World Climate Summit serves the interlinking of manufacturing industry, finance sector and governments in order to jointly develop new, profitable climate projects as well as to discuss concepts to disseminate strategies for a green economy across the globe. This year's meeting on the fringes of COP 17 was opened by South African President Zuma and the Minster for International Relations, Ms Nkoana-Mashabane.
Nobel prize winner Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented the Country Leadership Award to Germany.
Federal Environment Minister Röttgen was delighted: "This award proves that Germany is spearheading the expansion of renewable energies, the development of the relevant technologies and the implementation of policies for a sustainable energy supply. The expansion of renewable energies and energy efficiency are key strategies for making climate policy more effective. Many countries are watching to see how an industrialised country like ours succeeds in transforming its energy system and shifting to a sustainable and resource-friendly economy. The winners of this award are chosen by representatives of industry, which shows us that large industrial enterprises have recognised the need to decouple growth and competition from resource consumption. And in their eyes our new, environmentally sound and climate friendly concept for growth is a strategy for up-and-coming markets, and hence worthy of an award."