Welcome
Working together to preserve a world worth living in – Foreign Minister Baerbock travels to the 29th Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku
29th Climate Change Conference in Baku, © NurPhoto
Transitioning away from fossil fuels, expanding renewable energies, providing climate finance – at COP29, the international community is negotiating concrete steps for tackling the climate crisis. Foreign Minister Baerbock is taking over as Germany’s chief negotiator in the final phase.
State Secretary Jennifer Morgan, Special Envoy for International Climate Action, has been representing the German Government in the climate negotiations at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, from day one. She has already worked for months to ensure that we are well positioned for the negotiations with our partners around the world, and she led the German negotiating delegation during the technical talks at the beginning of COP29. Environment Minister Lemke and Economic Affairs Minister Habeck are also in Baku representing the German Government. Foreign Minister Baerbock will take over as Germany’s chief negotiator in the final phase of the conference from Wednesday, 20 November.
One of the main topics at COP29 is climate finance. The current funding goal of 100 billion US dollars per year will expire in 2025. The industrialised countries had committed themselves to collectively mobilising this amount annually for mitigation measures in developing countries. At COP29, the German Government is campaigning for a new approach to climate finance. It is clear that public funds alone will not be enough – businesses need incentives to step up their investment, too.
In recent days, through many rounds of negotiations, we have laid the initial groundwork for a new approach to climate finance. A lot of money is at stake, and the negotiations are tough and difficult. Our offer still stands: Germany and Europe remain reliable partners for financing the global climate transition.
- Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock
After all, in Germany and at international level, investments in the green transformation are also investments in global stability and thereby in the security of Germany and Europe. In Europe alone, the climate crisis caused an estimated 13.4 billion euro of damage in 2023 – so not taking action would entail tremendous additional costs. Every tenth of a degree of global warming that is prevented reduces the number of floods and forest fires as well as general instability, which in turn lowers the potential for conflict globally.
The climate crisis is the biggest security policy challenge of our times. It does not stop at borders. It pays no regard to geopolitical tensions. And it certainly does not care about scheduled elections. We know that every tenth of a degree of global warming makes a difference. And we know that together we must do everything in our power to finally get on the 1.5 degree path that was agreed in Paris.
- Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock
Important decisions were taken at COP28 in Dubai in 2023, for example on transitioning away from fossil fuels, tripling renewables worldwide, doubling energy efficiency and halting deforestation. The German Government wants to continue down this path and, in cooperation with the international community, look for ways to enact these decisions – such as the expansion of electricity grids and exchanges of green transformation experts.
Our common aim is to build on what we, as the international community, already decided a long time ago: transitioning away from fossil fuel energy. The good news is that the green transition, for its part, has picked up speed. It can no longer be stopped.
- Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock