An informal gathering of 35 ministers in Berlin, Germany, at the start of this week focused on promoting an “ambitious and swift implementation” of the new Paris Agreement on climate change, according to a closing press release.

Participants, representing all regions from around the world, reportedly agreed and discussed how concrete policies can quickly be put in place to implement the new universal climate pact, struck at the end of last year in the French capital city.

“Following the success of Paris, we are now entering the implementation phase. Governments across the globe are undertaking measures to combat climate change,” said German environment minister Barbara Hendricks on the occasion. “We can learn a great deal from each other and in doing so lend even greater momentum to international climate action.” 

The so-called Petersberg Dialogue has been hosted annually by the German government since 2010 in a bid to advance climate change negotiations following a breakdown of talks the year prior.

This year’s two-day programme focused on key tasks post-Paris, including long term strategies for climate resilient development and aligning finance flows, as well as expectations for the next annual UN climate meet due to be held in Marrakech, Morocco, in November.

The German government also unveiled a new partnership aimed at helping developing countries implement the Paris Agreement. The initiative will support developing countries in specifying and implementing their national climate action plans, known as “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs), which form the basis of the new deal.

The partnership will organise tailor-made advice, drawing on know-how and work from other organisations and platforms, and aim towards ensuring coherence among donors within different countries in implementing climate policies. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Saudi Arabian energy minister Khalid al-Falih additionally announced their intention in Petersberg to ratify Paris by year’s end, joining a host of other countries that have also signalled plans to do so, including the world’s top two emitters China and the US.

As of last month, 19 countries had deposited instruments of ratification, although these represent just 0.18 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Some 178 states have signed the deal. The agreement will come into force 30 days after 55 parties representing 55 percent of greenhouse gas emissions have signed and ratified.

While climate ambition appeared buoyant in Berlin, campaigners expressed disappointment last week that a separate gathering of G-20 energy ministers in Beijing, China, failed to set a deadline for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, despite reaffirming commitments to continue moving in this direction. G-7 leaders meeting in May in Ishe-Shima, Japan agreed to eliminate inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, a goal that was also supported during a separate meeting of North American leaders in Ottawa last week. (See BioRes, 2 June 2016)

At the latter event, leaders from Canada, Mexico, and the US said that they would be pushing for such a goal to be adopted by fellow G-20 members. (For more, see related story, this edition) 

Whither Britain?

The Petersberg gathering was also the first time climate officials have met since UK citizens voted on 23 June to leave the European Union. Although the subject was not formally discussed, the future direction of the UK’s climate and energy policies are among the many issues related to the “Brexit vote” attracting global attention, as are the potential implications for the EU in this area. 

The EU has submitted a collective NDC to the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, although discussions for dividing this among the current 28 member states are ongoing.

Should the UK leave the bloc altogether, it would likely need to submit its own NDC, and unpack its contribution to the second phase of the “Kyoto Protocol” that in theory will govern international climate efforts through to the end of the decade.

Some stakeholders have said that Brexit could adversely impact both the UK’s and the EU’s leadership in global climate policy, as well as threaten clean energy investment in the continent, while others disagree on the extent.

“We made a clear commitment to acting on climate change. That will continue,” UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Amber Rudd told a business and climate summit last week.

“So while I think the UK’s role in dealing with a warming planet may have been made a bit harder by the decision [on 23 June], our commitment to dealing with it has not gone away,” she continued. 

Despite division prevailing over Britain’s political scene, the government nonetheless moved to approve the country’s fifth “carbon budget,” which aims to reduce emissions by 57 percent by 2032 from 1990 levels.

Provisional figures for 2015 indicate that the UK has reduced emissions by 38 percent below 1990 levels, according to a statutory Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which has also warned that the island nation will need to put in place new policies in order to meet the 2032 carbon budget.

The UK’s National Grid on Tuesday announced that the country was likely to miss its target of producing 15 percent of total energy from renewables as part of its contribution to the EU’s 2020 targets for clean energy.

Eventual “Brexit” talks would also need to determine the future of the UK’s participation in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). (See Bridges Weekly, 30 June 2016)

Some commentators have suggested that uncertainty around outcomes in this area could create a downward pressure on ETS allowance prices and also subvert the carbon price signal for covered UK entities.

The UK will also need to define its engagement with the EU on energy policy, given that the country is physically connected to European gas and electricity markets. Norway, for example, is not an EU member and accounted for 57 percent of UK gas imports, but with pipelines from the Netherlands supplying 15 percent of this. 

EU-China linkages

Separately, the EU signalled last week that it would be stepping up cooperation with China on emissions trading, supported by a new €10 million (US$11 million) collaboration project on the subject.

Announced by EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete during a visit to China, the initiative will start in 2017 to coincide with the launch of China’s national carbon market, and run for three years.

“With more than a decade of experience with the EU emissions trading system, the EU is well placed to support China,” Cañete said. “Cooperation between the two largest emissions trading systems in the world will send a strong signal to other countries as they prepare to implement their Paris commitments.”

The project will build on existing bilateral cooperation and establish regular dialogue to developments in emissions trading. The EU is currently home to the world’s largest carbon market but is expected to be surpassed in this respect once China’s programme is launched.

Business voices and experts have suggested that an expansion of carbon pricing around the world could help alleviate competitiveness concerns, due to economic activities being subjected to significantly different mitigation measures, and associated “carbon leakage” fears where production moves to less stringent climate jurisdictions.

The EU-China announcement came just after the European Commission released a broader strategy document on 22 June outlining the bloc’s relationship with the Asian giant for the coming five years, including around trade and investment. (See Bridges Weekly, 30 June 2016)

ICTSD reporting; “Saudi Arabia, Germany to ratify UN climate deal in 2016,” CLIMATE HOME, 5 July 2016; “G20 nations fail to agree timeline for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies,” BUSINESS GREEN, 4 July 2016; “Climate change: UK backs world-leading climate target,” BBC NEWS, 30 June 2016; “Renewable energy: UK expected to miss 2020 targets,” BBC NEWS, 5 July 2016.