Global coordination of climate policy top priority in German G7 presidency
Climate, environment and biodiversity, an accelerated global energy transition, and a sustainable and fair economic system top the German government's priorities for its G7 presidency. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his cabinet met in Berlin to adopt and present the country鈥檚 programme for the coming months.
鈥淲e want to achieve that no country goes it alone,鈥� the Social Democrat Scholz told journalists, 鈥渂ut that they join together to form a climate club in which we make progress in different ways but together, so that we manage to become climate neutral in the world by the middle of the century.鈥�
Under the motto 鈥淧rogress for a Just World鈥�, lays out five priority areas for 2022: 聽sustainable planet; economic stability and transformation; healthy lives; investments in a better future; and strong cohesion. 鈥淎s leading industrial nations and partners with shared values, the G7 countries have a particular responsibility for shaping a future worth living in for all people, on a healthy planet, with sustainable economic recovery, the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement in mind,鈥� says the programme.
Sustainability is a true cross-cutting issue under the German G7 presidency.
Economy and climate minister Robert Habeck (Green Party) said that the G7 programme is 鈥渟trongly influenced by the focus on sustainability issues.鈥� He called it a 鈥渢rue cross-cutting issue鈥� dealt with by all departments.
An ambitious climate and energy policy agenda should become a key element of the G7's boost for international cooperation. "This means an accelerated global coal phase-out, a forceful decarbonisation of sectors and the pursuit of a globally just transformation," he said.
The new German government鈥檚 first year has kicked off with a bang on foreign policy, as the country took over the G7 presidency. Today鈥檚 publication of the presidency programme largely confirms comments made by the chancellor and ministers in recent weeks. While it sets the tone for Germany鈥檚 efforts and the discussions among the G7 members over the coming months, current events could quickly derail the plans, such as developments at the Ukrainian-Russian border. Fears of an invasion by Russia , as the country has reportedly gathered 100,000 troops at the border.
Aside from the summit of G7 heads of state and government on 26-28 June in Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps, Germany will invite governments for to discuss G7 priorities. Many of these meetings are set to take place in May.
Researchers see the June summit as 聽鈥� similar to the 2015 G7 summit, also under Germany鈥檚 presidency and also in Elmau. Under the lead of former chancellor Angela Merkel, the G7 heads of state and government to phase out fossil fuel use by the end of the century and thus did their part to pave the way for a successful COP in Paris several months later, where countries adopted the Paris Agreement.
Event: Germany鈥檚 G7 presidency as a stepping stone for the 2022 international climate agenda
Germany to push for international climate club
Chancellor Scholz鈥檚 pet project on climate policy is the establishment of an open and cooperative international climate club 鈥� a partnership of the countries with the highest ambitions for climate policy worldwide.
The idea by economist and Nobel Prize winner William Nordhaus at least since 2015, and . Scholz is of using this vehicle to give additional impetus to the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement 鈥� and at the same time protect German industry from competitive disadvantages. As finance minister, he presented a this summer.
The G7 programme says the climate club鈥檚 objective is to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, among other things by reaching agreement on uniform standards for the emission and pricing of CO2, as well as with common measures for supporting countries that implement ambitious climate protection measures.
Dennis Snower, government advisor and president of the Global Solutions Initiative welcomed the push for joint standards through a climate club. 鈥淭his will make it harder to undermine climate action measures and that is an important precondition for making climate action socially just.鈥�
Cooperation with emerging and developing nations to promote sustainable infrastructure and investments
Getting the other G7 members on board for a climate club is one thing, promoting climate action beyond the group聽 another. The German government has made cooperation with emerging and developing countries another key focus of its G7 presidency.
Asked about what the climate club could offer the world鈥檚 poorest countries, Scholz said: 鈥淲ithin the framework of the G7 Presidency, we are of course also committing ourselves to enabling economic development in the world that also helps the poorest countries.鈥�
The government wants to establish climate, energy and development partnerships 鈥渁bove and beyond the G7鈥�. These are intended to promote the transfer of knowledge and technology, support climate policy reform and accelerate the just transition towards sustainable and climate-neutral societies. A particular focus will be on the promotion of sustainable infrastructure as well as the dialogue and cooperation with selected African and Indo-Pacific countries, says the programme.
Germany seeks to develop 鈥渃oncrete initiatives for promoting high-quality infrastructure鈥�. It also wants to use existing infrastructure initiatives such as the EU鈥檚 Global Gateway and the G20 Compact with Africa. This could be seen as a response to China鈥檚 Belt and Road initiative.
Germany could build on its years of experience with bilateral 鈥�,鈥� or look to minilateral projects, such as the announced at the COP26 session in Glasgow. The U.S., the UK, France, Germany and the European Union to support South Africa with 8.5 billion USD to move away from coal more quickly. The deal is seen as a blueprint for cooperation with other countries, which Germany could now push during its G7 presidency.
Industry association BDI welcomed the programme presented by the government. It said the priorities address important issues which are 鈥渁mong the key challenges of our time鈥�. The government should push ahead with the gradual introduction of a CO2 price in all G7 countries and also flesh out the idea of global infrastructure partnerships.
Speeding up the energy transition at home
All efforts to push for more ambition at the global level could be futile if Germany lacks credibility due to insufficient progress at home. The country's energy policy is under heightened international scrutiny due to the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and its role in the conflict with Russia, and the fact that the country will switch off its last nuclear reactors in 2022 as part of the phase-out at a time of rising energy prices.
Today, the cabinet also discussed ways to speed up the German transition to a climate-neutral and digital economy. 鈥淲e have also discussed the changes in our own economy,鈥� said chancellor Scholz. 鈥淚t is important that we become much faster in Germany.鈥�
Renewables expansion, for instance, has not progressed nearly at the speed necessary to reach interim climate targets in 2030 and get the country on a path compatible with the 1.5掳C global warming limit of the Paris Agreement. This is a key promise of the new government, which has said it aims to accelerate planning and permitting procedures so that wind and solar parks can be built faster.
