Germany, Peru co-host key climate meeting in build up to COP20

The fifth Petersberg Climate Dialogue concluded on Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Peruvian President Ollanta Humala calling on countries to target a legally binding agreement on emissions reduction by 2015.

The meeting was co-chaired by Germany and Peru and Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks summed up the positive results by saying: "There is a spirit of change in international climate policy. The message of these last few days is that together we can tame climate change. Many countries are working on new, ambitious climate goals for the global agreement we want to adopt in 2015."

At the Climate Change Conference in Warsaw in December 2013, countries agreed to a deadline of March 2015 to present their national climate action contributions to a new agreement set to begin in 2020.

Hendricks expressed her confidence that the major emitters such as China, the EU, and the United States would meet the deadline and that many smaller nations would follow suit.

Hendricks added: "Before the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris, we must make sure that the effort is shared equitably and that the actions proposed are sufficient to limit the temperature increase to below two degrees. By 2030 we aim to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55 per cent compared to 1990 levels and are thus setting a good example."

The German Government supports reducing GHG emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030.

Hendricks pledged support for developing nations that require technical assistance in drafting their own ambitious climate action plans.

Germany’s Federal Environment Ministry has given support to 19 countries through the International Climate Initiative and will assist them in drafting new climate targets as their contribution to the 2015 climate agreement.

Countries that will receive help include Peru, Armenia, Viet Nam, the Gambia and Lebanon and there is the possibility of expanding this support to more countries.  

Peruvian Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal highlighted the sense of urgency that should lead this process by saying: "to be successful, the new climate agreement needs to reflect a balance between mitigation and adaptation, between national action and multilateral rules and between the response to climate action and sustainable de-velopment, supported by financial and technological assistance".

Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Peruvian President Ollanta Humala also gave keynote speeches.

Minister Pulgar Vidal stressed that "the Lima Conference should agree on a strong, clear and coherent draft text of the 2015 agreement", as well as on "a practical and collaborative decision for the presentation of nationally determined contributions by all parties during next year".