In Berlin, COP30 President highlights efforts between countries of the global North and South to maintain climate targets

This week, André Corrêa do Lago was in Berlin, Germany, for the 16th Petersberg Dialogue. The event is one of the preparation stages for COP30

On March 26, the 16th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, a key event in the international climate calendar, concluded. The discussions are in preparation for the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), to be held in Belém do Pará, Brasil, in November. The event was in Berlin, Germany, and highlighted the joint efforts of the Global North and South to meet climate targets.

"A common theme in these negotiations is the North-South division. The Climate Convention reflects this division, but everything we have built so far is based on agreement - that is incredible given the progress made in Paris," said the COP30 President.

The Ambassador also highlighted President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's goals for the conference: to increase the engagement of civil society; to expand the participation of local governments (states and municipalities), which are responsible for implementing solutions on the ground, and the private sector; to translate the achievements already made into actions that are understood by the public and the business community; and to create an International Climate Council to strengthen the Paris Agreement, with the participation of all multilateral organizations.

"It is in this spirit that we have introduced the word 'mutirão' (a concept of Tupi-Guarani heritage), based on the meaning that when something affects the community, everyone contributes with their skills - each person does what they can do well. This is the spirit we want to bring to COP30," concluded the Ambassador.

Other contributions

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, citing the participation of delegations from 40 countries in the Dialogue, also emphasized the importance of North and South standing together for the goals of the Paris Agreement, highlighting economic data showing that not investing in climate protection will result in much higher costs in the long term. "Today, climate action and economic growth are no longer mutually exclusive," she said.

"The COP is and will remain the central forum for our humanitarian challenge in the 21st century. That is why we are counting on all countries to present ambitious national climate plans before COP30. The aim is to achieve the green transformation as economically and efficiently as possible," Baerbock continued, when discussing the new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

So far, only 19 countries have updated their commitments.

Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, also contributed to the debate, reinforcing the case for multilateralism as one of the key elements of successful climate action. "We are facing problems from all directions, including, of course, in the area of climate, and that is why it is so important that we have this Petersberg Dialogue," he said.

English version: Trad. Bárbara Menezes
Proofreading by Enrique Villamil