German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze has warned that it is not good to have too high expectations from the UN summit on combating climate change, which starts on Sunday in Scotland, reports dpa.
„It would be a mistake to expect these world climate conferences to save the world spontaneously. The challenge is too complex for this to happen”, Schulze told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, according to an article published on Saturday.
„Climate conferences do not work on the principle of all or nothing. It is a long race in which each stage has its meaning. Glasgow will not be Paris 2.0”, said the Social Democrat politician, referring to the 2015 summit in the French capital in which the leaders agreed on a framework agreement to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius and to continue their efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial period.
At the same time, the German Minister of the Environment warned against widespread criticism of environmental protection policies. „Progress is possible and it happens”, said Schulze, stressing that climate protection is also a global priority at the top of the agenda for talks to form a governing coalition in Germany.
The Social Democrats (SPD) won the September elections and are currently in talks with the Greens and Liberals (FDP) to form a governing coalition, Agerpres notes.
Although he praised the movement to combat climate change because it brought global warming to the forefront of the agenda, Schulze warned of simplistic approaches. „Of course, it is better for the environment, the climate and, incidentally, for our health, to eat less meat in Germany, for example. But that will not solve the climate crisis “, the German minister also pointed out.
The reality behind the statements
Germany is the European country that, although it has the most ambitious plan to green the economy by promoting energy from renewable sources, produces, imports and consumes the largest amounts of coal in the EU. And because it is shutting down its nuclear power plants and weather conditions have not been favorable this year for the wind to blow hard enough to start wind turbines, the natural gas crisis has meant that in the first half of 2021, coal will have the greater contribution to electricity production in Germany.
Read also: Europe’s gas crisis. Why the energy bill is increasing and how Gazprom is blackmailing the EU
The EU’s independence and energy security are also linked to Germany. Russia is the largest exporter of natural gas in the European Union, and Germany is Moscow’s largest customer. Many say that the shortage of Russian gas that underlies the current energy crisis has to do with Russia’s efforts to maintain this status, to show that energy transformation, in which gas would lose its importance, has much cost. too large for European countries.
Read also: What is Russia’s role in the European gas crisis
COP26, a summit with many alarm signals
The COP26 summit in Glasgow officially begins on Sunday, a day after the meeting of state leaders Roma G20, which some voices claim will represent the event which could define COP26 as a success or a failure.
The UN Conference on Environmental Issues is considered the most important climate event organized following the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and crucial for climate change control. Nearly 200 countries will negotiate to address tougher national plans to reduce carbon emissions.
Vladimir Putin, nor Chinese President Xi Jinping they did not plan to participate at the UK meeting, raising concerns among the international community that a final agreement would be more difficult to reach.
The German Minister for the Environment is not the first official to claim that COP26 could be concluded without any agreement.
Earlier this week, Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said that the stability of the countries and the goals they had set for themselves were at stake at present, and a failure to discuss the COP26 summit in Glasgow could lead to new conflicts and chaos in many parts of the world.
For his part, COP26 President Alok Sharma said that “what we are trying to do here in Glasgow is actually very difficult and definitely much more difficult than what was done in Paris, because the negotiations are on several levels.” .
“What the world leaders achieved in Paris was extraordinary, it was a framework agreement, but much of the detailed rules were left for later. It is as if we are at an exam and only the most difficult questions remain, and we do not have much time left and the exam will be finished in half an hour “, the COP26 president described the stakes of the summit.
At the same time, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said before the G20 and COP26 meetings that world leaders must act directly and quickly against climate change, because “civilization can collapse like the ancient Roman Empire if no action is taken.”
Read and Countries do not reach their climate goals. How much we need to reduce emissions to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius
Editor: Marco Badea
