While many countries’ climate negotiators headed home after the first round of this year’s Bonn Climate Change Conference closed on Friday, at least 35 high-level government delegates, including Ministers, stuck around for this week’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue. German Chancellor Angela Merkel co-hosted the event in partnership with the Polish Government.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier, Polish Environment Minister Marcin Korolec. High-res & additional photos.
The Petersberg Dialogue has become an annual event, either following or preceding the Bonn Climate Change Conference that takes place every June. Ministers and high-level officials from 35 countries were invited to this year’s meeting, which aims to address four questions:
1. How can we shape an ambitious, effective and fair climate agreement with active participation from all countries by 2015, and implement it from 2020?
2. How can the UN climate process bring about more climate action at national level up to 2020, so that we can remain below the 2°C ceiling?
3. How can international climate policy create effective incentives for more private investment to advance the transformation towards a low-emission economy?
4. How can the climate change conference in Warsaw help us to achieve our main goals, and what are the most important milestones on the path to a new agreement in 2015?
Participants in this year’s Petersberg Climate Dialgogue. High-res & additional photos.
Perhaps indicative of how Poland’s government views the issue of climate change during a year they are set to host the annual Conference of Parties in Warsaw, Polands Prime Minister was invited to share the stage with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but declined. Instead, all eyes are on Poland’s Environment Minister, Marcin Korolec. In a conversation last week with RTCC’s Ed King, who covers international climate policy:
There’s a chance for him to demonstrate that he’s committed to a climate deal that’s going to have some environmental integrity. It’s a big opportunity for him to demonstrate that.
RTCC has a piece out today digging into Poland’s role on the road to getting a global climate deal in 2015.
Korolec and German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier are expected to produce a political summary of the meeting, enabling the results to feed directly into the UN negotiations. They will host a closing press conference at 13:00 CET May 7th (livestreamed here).
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About the author
Joshua Wiese is Adopt a Negotiator’s Project Director. He is based in San Francisco, where he spends most of his time thinking about how to use technology to make the world a better place.
