Some key takeaways from the Petersberg Climate Dialogue

Source: The post is based on the article “Some key takeaways from the Petersberg Climate Dialogue” published in Down To Earth on 10th May 2023

What is the News?

The Petersberg Dialogue on Climate Change was held in Berlin, Germany. It was hosted by Germany and the United Arab Emirates, which is hosting the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

What is the Petersberg Climate Dialogue?

The Petersberg Climate Dialogue is an annual high-level political and international forum held before the United Nations Climate Change Conferences(COP).

It was initiated in 2010 by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel following the nearly unsuccessful negotiations at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15).

Its central goal is to strengthen trust both in multilateral climate negotiations and between states.

The focus this year included topics such as climate adaptation, climate finance and dealing with loss and damage, but in particular the first-ever global stocktake.

What are the key takeaways from the Petersberg Climate Dialogue?

Clean up economies: The UN Secretary-General emphasized the need for cleaning up our economies — breaking the world’s fossil fuel addiction and driving decarbonisation in every sector to achieve a 1.5 degree global warming pathway.

– He also reiterated his earlier call for an Acceleration Agenda, where all countries hit fast-forward on their Net Zero deadlines.

– The Agenda calls for coal phaseout by 2030 in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and by 2040 in all others, as well as achieving Net Zero electricity generation and decarbonising major sectors.

Renewable Energy: COP28 President called on meeting participants to ramp up renewable energy capacity building.

– He called for a tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030 followed by a doubling in 2040, but his address focused on reducing fossil fuel ‘emissions.

$100 billion climate finance: Developed countries are “on good track” to deliver the $100 billion per year they had promised to mobilize by 2020 during the COP15 in 2009.

– However, recent estimates peg climate finance needs at $1 trillion per year by 2030 for emerging markets alone. 

– This means that climate finance needs are more than 10 times the amount that developed countries have been able to mobilize, 14 years after committing to the $100 billion figure. 

Global Stocktake: 2023 is the year for the Global Stocktake, which is essentially a periodic review of global climate action which aims to assess whether current efforts will enable us to reach the objectives set out in the Paris Agreement.