Speaking in Berlin, Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said: "Although we would have liked to see the international community move forward more quickly in taking measures against climate change, we nonetheless made significant progress in Nairobi in addressing this global challenge."
He noted that aid pledged for developing countries particularly hard hit by climate change can be seen as a success.
Adaptation fund
An adaptation fund is to provide support to poor countries suffering as a result of climate change. With a financial volume of around 300 million dollars the fund is intended to help counteract specific effects of global warming, for instance by building dams and water purification plants.
The money for the fund will come from a share of two percent of proceeds from certified emission reductions (CERs) generated in the framework of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as per Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol. This mechanism gives companies in industrial countries an opportunity to acquire CERs by financing climate-friendly projects in developing countries.
The conference of the 189 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed on a program of work on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change aimed at improving our understanding and assessment of the regional effects of climate change.
The Nairobi work program is also intended to help us make informed decisions on practical adaptation actions and measures in response to climate change. By way of example, it would help in deciding the question as to whether or not a dam should be built at a given location or whether it would be better to transfer the population. Germany will provide financial support for the program.
Investment fund
The European Union (EU) presented a new fund for the promotion of investments in renewable energy technologies, the Global Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEREF).
An annual amount of 100 million euros is to be provided for an initial period of four years to support investments in efficient and renewable energies in developing countries. Germany will contribute 24 million euros to this fund.
The fund will help cover risks connected with investments in these technologies in developing countries, making possible an investment volume of 1.25 billion euros.
The aim is to help developing countries decouple economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. This is an important step towards making it possible for this group of countries to be integrated in future climate-change measures.
German policy on climate change in 2007
Gabriel noted that there had not been any doubt in Nairobi that there will continue to be emissions trading after 2012, adding that there is a need for political activism and new guidelines with regard to climate change. The German government will make use of the functions it assumes in 2007, i.e. the EU presidency and the G8 chair, to continue to advance international policy on climate change.
Attention will be focused on energy efficiency, development of the European emissions trading system, and the inclusion of further countries in the Kyoto Process. Germany is willing to reduce its own emissions by 40 percent between now and the year 2020. The prerequisite for this is that the EU agree to reduce its emissions by 30 percent over the same period. In the G8 framework Germany will focus on measures aimed at improving the protection of rainforests.
