Petersberg Climate Dialogue Seeks Climate-Resilient Economic Recovery
This year’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue from 27 to 28 April focuses on how to pave the way for the international community to emerge from the acute COVID-19 pandemic in a more resilient and climate-friendly way. The meeting is taking place virtually for the first time, which also allows broader participation via social networks. The Petersberg Dialogue provides an annual forum for informal high-level political discussions focusing on the international climate negotiations and the advancement of climate action on the ground.
The Dialogue is hosted by Germany and is co-chaired this year by the United Kingdom in its capacity as Presidency of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26. During the high-level segment on 28 April, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UN Climate Chief Patricia Espinosa and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be joined by 30 ministers, including UK Secretary of State for Business and Energy, and President of COP26, Alok Sharma, to take the discussions forward. Statements prepared by the high-level participants were shared ahead of the meeting.
The new virtual format of this year’s Dialogue presents the opportunity to engage a broad range of interested actors via social networks. In addition to the ministerial, negotiator and non-state actor video conferences, the aim is to facilitate a global conversation via social media on the following question: How can we jointly recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and make our societies and economies more climate-resilient and climate-friendly in the process?
To this end, participants were invited to publish their statements on social media on 27 April, using the hashtag #PCD11.
In her statement, UN Climate Chief Patricia Espinosa said: “Covid-19 has not postponed the climate emergency. But the world’s recovery from it—if we get it right—can put us on a more sustainable and inclusive path, one that protects the environment, strengthens biodiversity and ensures the long-term health and safety of humankind.”
Watch the full statement below.