Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider will participate in the G20 climate and environment ministerial meeting on 16 and 17 October in Cape Town. Priority topics are climate action, biodiversity conservation, marine protection, loss of fertile soils and circular economy. The ministers will also discuss air quality control and protecting the environment and people from chemical and waste pollution. The German government wants the G20 meeting to send a clear signal in support of international cooperation on environmental protection and climate action.
Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider remarked: "In our multi-polar world, climate and environmental policy can be unifying, because in these areas it is palpably clear to everyone that we either lose together or win together. International cooperation can make us all stronger. We depend on it to maintain our shared foundations of life: a stable climate, intact seas and oceans with healthy fish stocks, soils that can feed eight billion people, forests that act as the Earth's green lungs – and these are just a few examples. We have shown what we can achieve when we work closely together. As we did on the new agreement on marine biological diversity (BBNJ Agreement) which enters into force in January. Also with regard to the other major challenges of our time, from climate action to combating plastic pollution, striving for joint global solutions is worth every effort."
The theme of South Africa's G20 Presidency is "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability". Alongside biodiversity conservation, the host nation is focussing particularly on curbing environmental crime and on synergies between environmental protection and economic development on the African continent. In this context, the Federal Environment Ministry strongly supports capitalising on the socio-economic opportunities of environmental protection and climate action, and promoting social climate action around the world.
In the margins of the G20 meeting, Minister Schneider will join South Africa's Environment Ministry and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to officially launch a joint project on restoring savannah and grassland landscapes. As major carbon sinks, these landscapes can make an important contribution to climate action. Their restoration also benefits local communities, because it improves water supply and can even boost tourism.
South Africa is an important partner in tackling the crises of plastic pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change. With that in mind, Minister Schneider will also visit projects and hold bilateral talks with his South African colleague Dion George.