17-19 Petersberg Climate Conference
German Chancellor: “We must move away from coal, oil and gas”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) and German Foreign Minister Analena Weerbock attend the Petersberg climate summit in Berlin, Germany, on the 18th (local time). Archyde.com Yonhap News
“Before us, there is a choice between ‘group suicide or collective action’. It is in our hands.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a video message to the climate summit in Petersberg on the 18th (local time), calling for a response to the climate crisis. According to the Associated Press, Guterres said, “Half of humanity lives in areas at risk from floods, droughts, extreme storms and wildfires. No country is free from this.” And yet, we continue to use fossil fuels,” he said. The Petersberg Climate Conference will be held in Berlin, Germany from the 17th to the 19th in preparation for the annual UN Climate Change Convention (COP), and climate change-related ministers from 40 countries around the world attended.
Guterres said, “Countries are pointing fingers at others rather than taking responsibility for our future. It cannot go on like this,” he said. “Stop lip service and set clear deadlines and implementation plans for $100 billion in annual aid,” he said, urging developed countries to take responsibility for developing countries. He also said, “To meet the agreed climate goals and create a community that can respond to climate change, we need to restore trust and work together.”
The meeting also discussed the energy crisis caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. European countries, including Germany, are at risk of cutting off Russian gas supplies. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “Globally, fossil fuels, especially coal, should not be revived. “We need to move away from coal, oil and gas,” he said. He also emphasized, “The increase in the proportion of coal power generation due to the possibility that gas supply may become difficult in Germany is only a temporary measure,” he said.
The Petersberg Climate Conference is a ministerial-level annual meeting hosted by Germany, with the purpose of preparing for the COP. It was first held in 2010 at Mount Petersberg near the Rhine near Bonn, Germany. According to UPI news agency, the Petersberg climate talks might be the last chance for countries to agree on a solution to the climate crisis in preparation for the UN climate conference to be held in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt in November.
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