Morning Briefing: The real takeaway from the climate summits (and a surprise)
Chancellor stays away from the world climate conference, outrage spreads - but are the summits actually a reliable benchmark for climate protection?
Quick Look
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz is absent from the climate conference in Antalya due to other commitments, sparking outrage.
- The article questions whether participation in climate summits is an appropriate measure of climate protection, pointing to rising global CO₂ emissions despite 30 conferences and an expected slight decline in emissions this year.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Since yesterday the world has been negotiating in Antalya for more and better climate protection. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is absent due to other commitments. The first climate conferences took place in 1995; Since then, global CO₂ emissions rose from about 23.5 billion tons to 38.6 billion tons last year. Researchers expect a slight decline to 38.2 billion tons this year.
In Antalya, the world has been negotiating since yesterday about more and better climate protection - and Chancellor Friedrich Merz is missing "due to other obligations". This caused immediate outrage. Now one can certainly ask whether the Chancellor's climate commitment is proportionate to the threat posed by climate change. But is participation in the climate conference the right indicator for this?
Because viewed soberly, the climate conferences are one thing above all: very unsuccessful. In 1995, the year of the first conference, the world emitted around 23.5 billion tons of CO₂. Last year – 30 conferences, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement later – it was 38.6 billion tonnes. The value increased almost every year. Or to put it another way: Like so many things in climate policy, the summit is pure activism.
And yet things are not all bad when it comes to climate protection. Researchers expect emissions to fall slightly to 38.2 billion tons this year. Donald Trump, of all people, is proving to be a driver for renewable energies, even if involuntarily. Christoph Bals, head of politics at Germanwatch, told my colleague Silke Kersting that this was...
Open Questions
- What specific obligations prevent Chancellor Merz from participating?
- What results are expected at the climate conference in Antalya?
- How does Donald Trump relate to the expected decline in emissions?
- What specific statement did Christoph Bals make to Silke Kersting?
