The Petersberg Climate Dialogue co-hosted by the governments of Germany and Poland concluded in Berlin earlier today, with some indications that it was a useful continuation of the discussions that took place in Bonn on a 2015 global climate treaty and what has to happen to increase climate action before any future treaty takes effect.
We’re assuming the 35 participating countries are a who’s who of who the Germans think are key for moving the climate solutions agenda forward. For those of you who couldn’t identify the minister’s and high-level government officials by face in the pictures released yesterday, Germany’s environment ministry just published the list of participants. A few interesting titles on that list:
- Saudi Arabia’s minister of petroleum and mineral resources - perhaps further indication of what KSM views as the most significant climate impact on their country, climate solutions and demand for oil.
- Peru’s director general for climate - Peru was one of two main contenders for hosting next year’s COP, though rumor has it they aren’t having much success in finding supporters to back their bid.
- US’ special envoy for climate change - though not a surprising appearance, Todd Stern is the face of the US government’s push for a bottom-up 2015 deal.
We’d love to read your thoughts on which countries on the list stand out and why. Feel free to put them in the comments below.
It terms of the actual substance of the 2-day talks, it’s difficult to draw conclusions. Co-chairs Marcin Korolec & Peter Altmaier produced a political summary which will be fed into the UNFCCC process later this year. None of the ideas referenced in the summary are new, but their showing up in this context could influence what gets increased traction going forward.
Notably, there was an increase in the profile of energy efficiency and renewable energy. There was reference to Ban Ki-Moon’s 2014 leaders summit as a key moment for governments to increase their pledges for climate action. Ministers stressed that “without engagement from the general public and their acceptance for practical solutions proposed, the impetus behind more climate action will be lost and successful implementation will fail.” To that end, there were suggestions of that some sort of major stakeholder engagement could take place at the next Conference of Parties (COP) in Warsaw later this year.
Ministers emphasized that ”long-term, stable and reliable policy signals are essential to drive investments.” Germany’s environment minister Peter Atmaier pointed the finger squarely at the EU, calling for an urgent solution to the price decline in EU carbon credits. He suggested that saving the EU emissions trading scheme would be crucial for inspiring and encouraging other states to follow suit.
Beyond being an opportunity for key government officials to continue their engagement on climate issues, this meeting was a chance for Poland’s environment minister Marcin Korolec to show that Poland is serious about addressing the threats of climate change and will use their upcoming COP presidency to demonstrate that seriousness. While the Co-Chairs summary failed to give any obvious indications to that end, it’s perhaps notable that most of the deadlines for concrete deliverables needed for a 2015 climate deal come not during, but after Poland hosts the COP.
Have a look at the full summary text below.
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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.
