Page 25

Photo Credit: EC-Frank Molterregions – the European Union and China – tryingout this market economy instrument.Of course, it would be best if the production of harmful greenhouse gases were to have a global price tag. A global carbon market would create incentives for the most efficient possible production and at the same time prevent distortions of competition. That is why we launched a platform during Germany’s G7 Presidency two years ago to enable us to work together more closely. This is another issue which could be expanded to include the G20.I firmly believe – as does my Government – that there are no excuses; protecting the climate concerns us all. Firstly, we all feel the impact of climate change. Secondly, progress in protecting the climate will benefit us all. We are responsible for each other. We are liable for each other’s actions. We are bound together by a common fate. As the G20 Summit takes place in Hamburg, we chose a maritime symbol – a reef knot – for our G20 Presidency. A reef knot grows tighter the more you pull on it, the greater the strain placed on it. Our motto is: ‘Shaping an interconnected world’. We cannot deny that our world is interconnected, nor can we call this into question. We are bound together by a common fate.The spirit which reigned at the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement must also be present today – as it is implemented in Europe, in the G7 and G20 states and at the United Nations. I am still trying to persuade the doubters. There is always work to be done. ■Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered the above speech (edited version) at the VIIIth Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin. For more information on Chancellor Merkel and her Government visit: www.bundesregierung.de.banks and private stakeholders therefore must play their part.Private stakeholders do, of course, need planning certainty for their investment. That is why long-term strategies are so important, as called for in the Paris Agreement. For they can provide orientation for investors and, ideally, the maximum level of openness to new technologies. A total of six states have now adopted their long-term strategies and submitted them to the United Nations. They include the African state Benin.Germany is also among these countries. With our Climate Action Plan, we have set out the next stage until 2050: a reduction of at least 55 percent in greenhouse gases by 2030 and 80 to 95 per cent by 2050. However, we still have much to discuss with regard to the details of this Climate Action Plan. We are being careful to tackle these goals without exclusively focusing on specific technologies and in a cost-efficient way. The whole thing is an ongoing process, there are regular adjustments. Here, too – as in the drafting of the Climate Action Plan – we have to ensure that the largest possible number of stakeholders are involved.The European Union also has a concrete target: by 2030 it aims to have reduced emissions by at least 40 per cent compared with 1990 levels. Every member state must play its part. A key instrument here is emissions trading, which we want to strengthen. Parallel to this, we must not, of course, forget our economy’s competitiveness. For there is no point if production is simply transferred to other parts of the world. Emissions damage the climate – regardless of where they are produced. I can therefore only welcome China’s decision to launch its national emissions trading before the end of the year. Then, as it were, we will have two major “THE OECD HAS COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT WE COULD ACHIEVE MORE GROWTH THROUGH A COMMON CLIMATE POLICY FOR ALL G20 STATES ”Pictured: An energy- neutral, sustainable bio farm in Germany