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. It impacts the fruit seller in Valencia whose store is flooded by an overflowing river just like the farmer in Somalia whose crop is threatened by droughts and who is thinking about what can be done so that his family will not suffer from hunger. And it impacts people on the Marshall Islands who are wondering how much time is left before their house, their communities and everything on which their lives depend are swallowed by the sea. 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.

So far, the climate negotiations in Baku have been anything but easy. Advances have been made in the technical discussions in certain areas, but a great deal remains to be done over the coming days. This makes it all the more important for us in the international community to face up to the facts and work harder to reach consensus, especially with countries we do not have too much in common with. We must try over and over again to find ways that we can together make progress on climate-neutral solutions and new opportunities for growth. In Baku, we are working to forge climate coalitions that link continents. Because we will only make headway by working together.

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. That said, the new major emitters have their own responsibility to shoulder with regard to reducing greenhouse gases and contributing to climate finance. We will also need the large development banks, which today already play an important role in fighting the climate crisis, to be a part of the effort. And the private sector, too, must contribute.

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. Every year, some 2 trillion US dollars are being invested worldwide in renewable energy sources – double the amount that is being invested in fossil fuels. Even the oil-rich state of Texas in the US currently generates 30 percent of its electricity from renewables. So there are solid economic reasons to be making climate-friendly investments. Should the United States decide to take an “America first” approach to climate policy, then our climate policy response will be: “Europe united”. It is absolutely in our vested economic interest to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent.