BERLIN: Germany and France have pledged to do all they can to strike a global climate deal by the end of the year. At informal talks in Berlin, both countries stressed the need for economic incentives for decarbonization.
Speaking at the opening of this year’s “Petersberg Dialogue” talks, which have been held every year ahead of UN climate talks since 2010, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin on Tuesday that Germany would “double its contribution to fight climate change until 2020, based on 2014 levels.”
She stressed the need to involve and support developing nations in the global fight against cutting carbon emissions, saying that the global action taken “in the next 15 years will be crucial.”
Both Merkel and Hollande emphasized that incentives for business are essential to “reach an ambitious, comprehensive and binding UN climate agreement by the end of this year,” according to a joint statement released ahead of the talks in Berlin.
“Climate change and prosperity have to go hand in hand,” Merkel said, adding that the fight against climate change could not come at the expense of competitiveness and that “we cannot go without growth, we just have to generate it in a different way.”
Hollande, who spoke after the chancellor, also stressed the need for “technologies that allow for lower emissions,” and that the international community must “think about innovative ways to attract investment.”
Emissions trading reforms needed
Both leaders also stressed the need to create a “global market for the pricing of CO2,” according to Hollande. Merkel said reforms of existing emissions trading schemes’ were badly needed.
The Petersberg Dialogue talks, which are attended by representatives of 35 countries, come ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, which is hosted by Paris this year. Germany currently has the G7 presidency and has made the fight against climate change a priority.
