Sino-German G20 tandem / NGO call on govts to deliver
威力彩玩法
Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have vowed to work together closely at the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg to further shared goals and overcome diplomatic difficulties with third countries. During a visit in Berlin, Xi said China was going to support the German presidency in making 鈥減ositive progress鈥� at this year鈥檚 summit and ensure that issues figuring prominently at last year鈥檚 G20 in China, such as climate protection and economic modernisation, were also given priority in Hamburg. Merkel said 鈥渨e cooperated closely last year鈥� and this partnership was set to continue. The Chancellor said Argentina, which hosts the summit in 2018, would join China and Germany in a 鈥渢roika鈥� meant to ensure continuity in the international top-level forum. Both countries also signed a number of important economic cooperation agreements, for instance in digitalisation, aviation, hydropower and electric vehicles. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 just exchange goods but also have increasingly deep cooperation in technology research,鈥� Merkel added. Xi stressed that in the 45th year of official diplomatic ties between Germany and the People鈥檚 Republic, 鈥渘ew breakthroughs鈥� were needed as the countries鈥� partnership entered a 鈥渘ew phase鈥�. He added that Beijing and Berlin would also ramp up efforts to develop joint projects in third countries, for example in Africa, and work towards 鈥渂ringing Europe and Asia closer together.鈥�
See the 威力彩玩法 interview with G20 Research Group founder John J. Kirton for more on Merkel's summit diplomacy.
The 威力彩玩法 will publish an analysis of German-Chinese climate policy cooperation on Thursday.
威力彩玩法 / Greenpeace
The G20 is in principle 鈥渁n acceptable format鈥� to find solutions for big global challenges, but the Hamburg summit 鈥渕ust deliver results鈥� given the costs associated with hosting the event, said Sweelin Heuss, managing director at Greenpeace Germany, at a press conference in Hamburg. Germany, for example, must exit coal and shut down the oldest power plants fast, to聽be able to reach its 2020 climate target. 鈥淢erkel must deliver. Otherwise, German climate policy is in no way better than that of the US,鈥� said Heuss.
Greenpeace鈥檚 demands for the remaining G19 (without US) are:
- Speedy implementation of the Paris Agreement; intensified climate protection efforts
- Commitment to transition to 100 percent renewables by mid century
- Ending fossil fuel subsidies by 2020
- Merkel must initiate Germany鈥檚 coal exit.
Greenpeace also presented a study by the Finnish Lappeenranta University of Technology, which showed that by 2015 at least one form of renewable energy was already cheaper than any fossil fuel in the context of power generation in eight of the G20 member states, according to Greenpeace. By 2030, this would be the case in all the countries.
Find a Greenpeace press release in German聽聽and the study in German聽.
For background read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet聽When will Germany finally ditch coal?, the 威力彩玩法 article G20 climate, energy plan goes to the wire at Hamburg summit and the interview 鈥淢erkel has to play her cards right at the G20 summit in Hamburg鈥�.
The Hamburg summit must send out the clear signal that the 鈥渙verwhelming majority鈥� will now implement the Paris Climate Agreement 鈥� with or without the US, says environmental NGO Germanwatch in a press release. 鈥淭he G20 has a special responsibility for the compliance with international rules. Here meet the world鈥檚 largest economies, the largest users of resources and the biggest climate destroyers 鈥� and they must implement the agreed accords and goals,鈥� said Germanwatch chairman Klaus Milke.
Find the press release in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 interview with Germanwatch鈥檚 Christoph Bals 鈥淕20 needs to show concrete steps to implement Paris climate accord鈥�
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
The G20 should boost the innovative strength of industry and accelerate technology development, so that it can 鈥渕ake its maximum contribution to climate protection,鈥� writes Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and CEO of BASF, and Chairman of the Business-20 (B20) Taskforce on Energy, Climate & Resource Efficiency in a guest blog for International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Bock says that his business, the chemical industry, contributed to 鈥渟aving energy, avoiding emissions and therefore to achieving the greenhouse gas reduction targets,鈥� and calls for 鈥渇air competitive conditions and a global approach to regulation.鈥�
Find the blog in English聽.
Find 威力彩玩法鈥檚 full background on the Hamburg summit in the dossier G20 2017 - Climate and energy at the Hamburg summit.
F20 Foundation Platform
An international group of 45 private foundations and philanthropic organisations has called on the G20 to make the implementation of the UN agreements on climate protection and sustainability their core responsibility. 鈥淚f necessary, this must be enforced without the agreement of US President Trump,鈥� the group said in a press release. Speaking at a conference of the F20 Foundation Platform in Hamburg, German environment minister Barbara Hendricks voiced optimism that the G20 could still achieve 鈥渁 good result鈥� on climate and environmental issues, 鈥渄espite the adverse global political circumstances鈥�. At the meeting of the G7 group in Sicily, six of the seven countries showed they understood that forceful action on climate change was important to keep their economies competitive, she said, adding that President Trump might still realise that leaving the Paris climate agreement was a 鈥渟hot in the foot鈥�.
Find the F20 press release in English and a report on the progress of the global energy transition .
Find 威力彩玩法鈥檚 full background on the Hamburg summit in the dossier G20 2017 - Climate and energy at the Hamburg summit.
The 威力彩玩法鈥檚 funders 鈥� the Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation 鈥� are part of the F20 Foundation Platform.
Frankfurter Rundschau
Germany no longer is among the countries most engaged in advancing climate protection, Werner R盲tz, co-founder of global justice group Attac Germany says in an interview with Frankfurter Rundschau. This year鈥檚 G20 host is advancing its energy transition 鈥渙nly half-heartedly,鈥� while countries like China and India have started to emerge as the new vanguards for meaningful climate protection, he argues. R盲tz also says the G20, as a small number of dominant nations meeting to set the rules for the rest of the planet, lacks legitimacy and the only legitimate forum for this kind of global agenda-setting is the United Nations. 鈥淎ll other states can watch but have no voice,鈥� R盲tz says.
Find 威力彩玩法鈥檚 full background on the Hamburg summit in the dossier G20 2017 - Climate and energy at the Hamburg summit.
Zeit Online
The G20 meeting in Hamburg is meant to address some of the most pressing global problems but many of the heads of state present at this year鈥檚 summit have a very poor record of defending human rights in their own countries, Christian Grefe writes in a commentary for Zeit Online. Germany must use its G20 presidency to openly discuss these contradictions and ensure that the United Nations, as the most important forum, does not suffer at the hands of a few dominant G20 countries, he argues.聽 The active participation of civil society is also needed to increase pressure on governments to put issues that concern their citizens on the table, he argues. 鈥淲ithout public pressure from citizens and their participation in UN, the Paris Climate Agreement would not have been made in 2015 and nor would the global Agenda 2030 with its sustainable development goals,鈥� Grefe says.
Read the commentary in German .
Find 威力彩玩法鈥檚 full background on the Hamburg summit in the dossier G20 2017 - Climate and energy at the Hamburg summit.
Hamburg Senate
The city of Hamburg, host of this week鈥檚 G20 summit, has joined the international network Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, according to a press release. 鈥淐ities and communities are key to reaching international climate targets. Especially after the United States鈥� decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement, networks and cooperation are more important than ever,鈥� said the city鈥檚 environment senator Jens Kerstan. Hamburg鈥檚 accession was a signal and showed the clear commitment to the Paris accord days before the summit.
Find the press release in German聽.
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossiers G20 2017 - Climate and energy at the Hamburg summit and Cities, municipalities, and the Energiewende.
The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) introduced a new website that aggregates power market data from different transmission grid operators almost in real time and provides them in a user-friendly way, the agency said in a press release. Data includes power production by source and power import and export data by country.
Find the press release in German聽聽and the website in German聽.
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet聽Germany鈥檚 energy consumption and power mix in charts.
