New York Climate Week – one of the key events for international climate policy – is taking place this week on the margins of the UN General Assembly. State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth will take part on behalf of the German government from 22 to 24 September. Among other events, he will participate in the Special High-level Event on Climate Action hosted by UN Secretary-General Guterres together with Brazilian President Lula. It will focus on the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that countries have to submit this year if they are to collectively steer a course to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. On Thursday, the EU Environment Council postponed a vote on new European interim targets for the 2030s while declaring its intention to present these in time for the UN Climate Change Conference in November.
State Secretary Flasbarth commented: “Even though the total sum of the nationally determined contributions still does not meet the level of ambition of the Paris Agreement, in New York we will make clear that there are already positive trends. The global energy transition is well underway. Globally speaking, the technological and economic conditions for further progress have never been better. Many countries are working successfully on solutions – to mitigate climate change but also because of the massive economic opportunities that new technologies offer.”
State Secretary Flasbarth will represent the German government at the Solutions Dialogues organised by UN Secretary-General Guterres on industrial carbonisation, the global energy transformation, reducing methane emissions and an initiative on innovative financing approaches to forest conservation.
A key issue in New York will be implementing the targets adopted at the Climate Change Conference in 2023 on tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements. Resilient and flexible electricity grids will be an essential component of future energy systems. This is why the German government is teaming up with partners to prepare an initiative on accelerating global grid expansion for the upcoming Climate Change Conference. This is a crucial prerequisite for integrating large volumes of renewable energy.
The fourth meeting of Climate Club members, co-chaired by Germany, will also take place during New York Climate Week. The meeting will focus on cooperation at the interface between climate policy, trade policy and industry.