1/5
German Foreign Minister Annalena Beierbach has warned about the effects of climate change on humanity.
Just before the start of the COP27 world climate conference in Egypt, Germany has called curbing global warming its top priority. “Humanity is heading towards an abyss, warming above 2.5 degrees, with devastating consequences for our lives on the only planet we have,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach (41, Greens) said on Sunday. The world has “all the tools needed to contain the climate crisis and stay on track to 1.5 degrees”.
40,000 participants are expected at the conference, which starts on Sunday and will be held on the African continent for the first time since 2016. At COP27, representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered in Sharm El Sheikh for two weeks of talks on how to step up the fight against global warming. Timing is of the essence, as the past seven years have been the warmest since weather records began. Extreme weather events in countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Somalia have recently shown the enormous damage and deadly destructive power of climate change.
Global emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases must be halved by 2030, according to researchers. At the UN climate conference in Paris in 2015, there was no other way to meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. According to the climate protection plans currently proposed by the states, this will increase further.
Chances of success are low
Despite the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, 2022 should not be a wasted year for climate protection. For many states, it’s about the survival of their people and their culture,” said Baerbach, with the ministries for economy, development and environment. “For them, the climate crisis is still the most important security issue, not Russia’s war in Europe.” These states will expect more solidarity from rich countries.
Due to the ongoing war in Europe, the associated energy, food and economic crises and the growing national debt, expectations for the climate conference are very low – compared to COP26 in Glasgow a year ago. . Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (66) assessed the chances of victory as slim. Prominent climate economist Odmar Edenhofer (61) and climatologist Mojib Latif (68) resigned early.
Federal Human Rights Commissioner Louis Amtsberg (38) urged the release of political prisoners in Egypt before the conference began. “Accepting global responsibility means, above all, accepting responsibility for the protection of human rights. However, Egypt’s human rights situation does not justify this,” Amtsberg criticized, as the Foreign Office in Berlin announced on Sunday.
The conference formally opened on Sunday morning with a handover from British COP26 President Alok Sharma (55) to his successor, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Samih Shoukry (70). Starting Monday, around 100 heads of state and government are expected in the Red Sea, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (64, SPD) and US President Joe Biden (79). Countries from the US are among the largest COs, along with Chinese President Xi Jinping (69) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (72).2Publishers, two of the key figures, did not attend the conference. Russian President Vladimir Putin (70) also did not attend. (SDA/chs)
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