Merkel must now fix the politics back home
At the G7 Summit in Germany, world leaders have responded to the politics of the Paris agreement and provided a vision for the transformation of the real-economy, signalling the end of fossil fuels. The agreement includes:
- To decarbonise the global economy over the course of the century
- Commit to strive towards transformation of the energy sector by 2050
- Agree the importance of binding rules that underpin the integrity of an agreement in Paris and support regular rounds of ambition in future
- Provide insurance and protection to the poorest and most vulnerable people
- Accelerate renewable energy access in Africa
- Support continued progress in the OECD on how export credits can contribute to addressing climate change
- Pledge to incorporate climate mitigation and resilience into development assistance and investment decisions
Nick Mabey, E3G CEO said:
“G7 leaders are clearly hoping to shift the pattern of climate politics, where they have been on the back foot. By agreeing to decarbonise the global economy inside a strong system of rules they have set a benchmark for emerging economies such as China to match. The recommitment to meeting financial pledges and providing insurance to the most climate vulnerable countries also aims to build bridges with poorer countries.”
“G7 leaders have finally understood that the stakes are high for the Paris talks. Either we pay the costs of continually rising climate risks or take decisive action to drive trillions of dollars of clean investment. Paris is fast becoming the biggest political event of 2015.”
Sabrina Schulz, Head of Berlin Office, said:
“Mrs Merkel seems to be returning to centre stage in international climate policy. Her commitment to say “Tschüß” to fossil fuels is proof of this. She must now use this new momentum to boost ambition and make her voice heard in the domestic row over the reduction of emissions from coal power. Germany’s climate leadership depends on this.”
Chris Littlecott, Senior Policy Advisor, said:
“Merkel and Hollande have successfully faced down obstructionism from Canada and Japan and secured agreement on climate ambition. Most importantly, Japan’s domestic plans for coal expansion have left it isolated amongst its G7 peers. Its support for international coal finance is no longer tenable as the tide turns against coal. This fight will now be taken to the OECD next month where we expect progress on phasing out coal.”
Liz Gallagher, Climate Diplomacy Programme Leader said:
“The G7 have laid out the political battleground ahead of Paris, committing to demonstrate how they will achieve the $100bn commitment that was made six-years ago. But even better, they are looking beyond the numbers game, by aiming to change fundamental financial structures and systems to align them with climate goals, including climate proofing development investments and regulating the global economy.”
Contact
Nick Mabey, CEO and Founding Director of E3G, +44 (0) 7949768771, nick.mabey@e3g.org
Liz Gallagher, Programme Leader, + 44 (0) 7920 461 838, liz.gallagher@e3g.org
Sabrina Schulz, Head of Berlin office, +49 (0) 1578 686 7370, sabrina.schulz@e3g.org
Chris Littlecott, Senior Policy Advisor, + 44 (0) 7920 461 812, chris.littlecott@e3g.org
