Virtual satellite event at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue
The event "Climate Neutrality – From ambition raising to Mission Zero" on 05 May 2021 was hosted by the German Environment Agency and its president Dirk Messner as a satellite event at this year’s virtual Petersberg Climate Dialogue (PCD) completing this year’s ministerial segment involving a range of government and non-state actors.
The event attracted over 500 registered participants and brought together eight distinguished speakers in three segments to present their views on how the vision of climate neutrality can be implemented:
(1) Where do we want to go: A future global vision towards net-zero
Laurence Tubiana (European Climate Foundation) recapped the development of a global vision for climate manifested in the Paris Agreement and the progress made since: “Paris Agreement is a lone star, is a reference, is a benchmark for action. […] The problem is commitments and the targets doesn’t mean a lot. You have to have trust in the process, that there will be - together with the targets - clear plans to reach these goals. And that comes now, it’s not to wait for. We need the plans by Glasgow at the latest.”
Yvon Slingenberg (European Commission) presented the 2050 vision for the European Union and how this vision is implemented: “We’ve put forward a framework law, so that it is not just a political commitment, that Europe becomes climate neutral, but it is actually enshrined in law. […] That will help for everyone to see, what the direction of travel is.”
Jennifer Morgan (Greenpeace) emphasized the importance of global justice in the battle of the climate crisis as well as in the recovery of the current pandemic: “What’s missing right now is a transformational global cooperation. […] It’s time for that system’s change, where well-being of people and the planet actually are the priority and where social justice and climate justice come hand in hand.”
(2) Where are we: The status quo of global climate ambition and efforts
Deborah Ramalope (Climate Analytics) gave an update on the status quo of climate action and the latest political announcements: “There is an improvement, but it is still not sufficient to put us on a 1.5-degree pathway. […] Countries need to step up ambition, there is no question about it. What we have is far from sufficient of what we’re looking for to align to Paris.”
Sander Chan (Global Center on Adaptation) described the role of non-state action and how it developed since the Paris Agreement: “We’ve seen an enormous growth in non-state climate action over the last five years. […] The potential of these initiatives alone is many times larger than the combined national commitments under the Paris Agreement.”
(3) How do we get there
Chris Stark (UK Committee on Climate Change) explained, how the UK translated the long-term vision into near-term targets: “Deep emissions reductions now are entirely feasible and in fact they’re appealing for a whole range of reasons beyond just carbon. And they can be achieved largely with technologies that we have at our disposal now.”
Fatima Denton (UNU-INRA) brought attention to the African perspective on low carbon development and co-benefits: “You have to sell the benefits of what a green economy might look like – a growth in employment, improved infrastructure, energy efficiency, prevention of loss of biodiversity and ecosystems. […] In as much as we need to ratchet up ambition, we also need to ramp up international solidarity. Countries in Africa are not going to be able to give up their resources if they are not incentivized.”
Sigrid Nikutta (DB Cargo) showcased the implementation of a long-term climate vision in a global company in the transportation sector: “We are facing a historic window of opportunity to make things happen. […] Long term visions need immediate actions. We can only benefit from this momentum if we use all the potential we have at this moment. The major lesson we have learned from the Corona pandemic is that the fastest way to handle a crisis is to make use of all resources we have at hand, use scientific knowledge, paired with economic power, driven by smart policies. There is plenty of potential we need to use more wisely.”
Below you will find some photos as well as (coming soon) the recording of the virtual event.
