Minister Röttgen: Conference in Copenhagen cannot fail!

Upon the invitation of the Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard, ministers from 43 countries met in Copenhagen from 15 - 17 November to prepare for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December. The key elements to be agreed in Copenhagen were discussed.

At the end of the meeting, Federal Minister for the Environment Norbert Röttgen explained: "We cannot afford for the conference in Copenhagen to fail. Climate change is unstoppable and we must act now and not at some indefinite point. A politically binding decision on all key points must, therefore, be made in Copenhagen. This particularly includes ambitious emissions reduction targets for industrialised countries, ambitious reduction contributions for developing countries, specific commitments to provide financial support for developing countries and a robust and transparent system for the implementation and assessment of the agreements made. This agreement must then be made legally binding next year."

Minister Röttgen noted that climate protection is an issue of universal human concern and cannot be ignored by anyone. He stressed the importance of limiting climate change and global warming and keeping the increase in global temperature to under 2 degrees, otherwise the survival chances of hundreds of millions of people will be threatened. "The determination to prevent the conference from failing could be felt amongst all participants of the pre-COP meeting in Copenhagen. A comprehensive and ambitious agreement for climate protection is possible in Copenhagen. The European states, in particular, have once again strengthened their leading role and determination. It is also encouraging that more and more newly industrialising countries are prepared to take more significant steps. However, it is vital that we get everyone on board, particularly China and the USA. This is what we will focus all our efforts on in the final weeks leading up to Copenhagen."