German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Saturday declared his skepticism about the progress that can be achieved at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, to be held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el Sheikh, given the global political tensions.
During a climate policy debate in the South Korean city of Busan, Steinmeier has warned that the world is entering a new period of conflict. «It is hard to imagine that in times of conflict and even military confrontation, states like Russia or China will play a constructive role in and after Sharm el-Sheikh,» he has made known.
«It is absolutely necessary to achieve progress, even if the conditions for this are not very encouraging,» Steinmeier has stated.
In Africa, he warned, deserts are increasingly spreading, Europe is losing the last glaciers in the Alps and the number of extreme weather events is also increasing in Germany.
As for Germany, Steinmeier has pointed out that transforming the entire economy to make it sustainable is not easy at a time when Europe’s largest economy is spending a lot of money to maintain stability in Europe, support Ukraine with weapons and increase the defense budget.
«It’s the same money we need to fight climate change,» Steinmeier said before explaining the triple challenge facing the country.
«First and foremost, we now have to get people through the coming winter safely and well. Secondly, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the suffering and destruction caused there, we have to stand by Ukraine and continue to support it,» he explained.
But climate change, the head of state stressed, does not take a breath. «And that is why we must also manage – and this is the triple challenge – to keep up the momentum in the fight against climate change,» he concluded.
