German ministers urge EU to lead the way at COP25 in Madrid

(EurActiv, 15 Nov 2019) At a Berlin conference to prepare for the UN’s annual climate summit (COP25), Environment Minister Svenja Schulze and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the EU’s responsibility in closing the Paris Climate Agreement’s remaining gaps, particularly by raising the targets at the EU level. EURACTIV Germany reports.

About two weeks before COP25 in Madrid, two MPs from the Socialist Democratic Party (SPD) called on the EU to take on a leadership role at the annual conference. It should close the remaining gaps in the Paris climate agreement, they said.

“Europe must play a leading role in climate ambitions. As major emitters, we must send the right signals,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Thursday (14 November). Alluding to the US, he added that “in times of national unilateralism, the international community cannot rely on the COP process alone”.

It is therefore crucial for the EU to engage in dialogue with other progressive forces and sharpen its goals.

“The European Union must do more. We cannot stick to the current climate ambitions we have set,” Environment Minister Schulze added. She would support Ursula von der Leyen’s ambitions for increased climate protection.

Regarding her expectations for COP25, Schulze said she hoped an agreement would be reached on an international credit system for emission certificates that would function “without loopholes and without double counting”, one of the open negotiating points that should be concluded in Madrid.

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EurActiv, 15 Nov 2019: German ministers urge EU to lead the way at COP25 in Madrid