The 17th Petersberg Climate Dialogue is taking place today and tomorrow in Berlin. It is the first climate policy meeting since the beginning of the largest fossil fuel crisis to date, which has led to higher prices, scarcity, hunger and hardship worldwide. The Climate Dialogue is being hosted by Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider together with Minister Murat Kurum from Türkiye, the designated COP31 Presidency, and Minister Chris Bowen from Australia, the designated COP31 President of Negotiations. Ministers from over 30 countries and representatives of the European Union, United Nations and other international organisations were invited to the meeting. Certain parts of the Dialogue will be attended by guests representing civil society and the scientific community. For the first time, businesses working on the transition to a climate-neutral economy in industry, the finance sector and clean tech are also represented.
Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider: "People worldwide are feeling the major impacts of the current fossil fuel crisis. The key realisation here is that we must become less dependent on expensive and unreliable oil and gas. The vast majority of people are united by the desire to no longer be victims of the developments on the Strait of Hormuz. Fortunately, for a long time we have had good alternatives available: renewable energy sources, electric mobility and heat pumps. The difficult current situation therefore also offers opportunities for progress on climate policy. Climate policy provides the solutions we need to ensure the next fossil fuel crisis is less painful. With countries all around the world now going back to the drawing board and seeking a new course, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue gives us a chance to generate fresh momentum for climate action."
The main goal of this year’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue is to identify options for international cooperation to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Time is running out, as the WMO report on the state of the climate confirmed: the years 2015 to 2025 were the eleven warmest years since records began.
The participation of the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Dr Fatih Birol, in the Petersberg Climate Dialogue underscores the close link between climate policy and energy policy: Efforts to combat climate change and the energy crisis must and can be shaped together. The energy crisis illustrates the structural risks of fossil fuel dependencies. At the same time, many countries are increasingly switching to renewable energy sources and electric mobility to reduce these dependencies. All these measures help mitigate climate change because they accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.
Minister Carsten Schneider: "We have come a long way internationally on wind and solar power. Now, we need to take the next step and electrify mobility and heating using energy from renewable sources. In Berlin I will be pushing for electrification to play an important role in the next UN Climate Change Conference. Our collective experience of the current energy crisis can help us make greater progress."
Germany is resolutely pursuing the transformation of its energy system to renewable energy sources and greater energy efficiency. The expansion of wind and solar power and the electrification of industry and the transport and buildings sectors – through electric mobility and heat pumps, for example – reduces the use of fossil fuels. This in turn lowers dependence on energy imports. At the same time, climate change mitigation, economic development, health and security are strengthened.
The Petersberg Climate Dialogue was launched in 2010 by the former Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel following the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Since then, the Dialogue has been held every year as an informal ministerial meeting during which key international climate policy issues are discussed and prepared at an early stage. This year, the meeting will provide a constructive forum to help prepare concrete progress for the next Climate Change Conference in Antalya in autumn.