It would be the first global conference focused on the environment since the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris agreement

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Between November 6th and 17th, most nations will meet in the 23rd Climate Summit. The countries will discuss how to achieve goals settled in the Paris agreement back in 2015. Despite that the location of the Conference is in Bonn, Germany, the event will be presided over by the Government of Fiji.

According to the Environmental minister from Germany, Barbara Hendricks, all the countries will present their plan of action to stop global warming. In the German Minister own words “now we have to interpret the agreements. The international treaty was signed in Paris”.

Carsten Rolle, head of the Energy and Climate Policy Department at the Federation of German Industries, stated to Clean Energy Wire that the conference “will be about establishing the trust in mutually agreed rules in climate protection”.

And the United States?

Besides the technical agreements that will be discussed in Bonn, the other main issue will be the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris agreements. It will be vital for the nations to show strong unity towards climate change in order to keep keep Donald Trump isolated while avoiding other’s withdrawals.

The attendees will have to determine the environmental global politics without the second biggest CO2 producer

The United States and Syria are the only two countries not in the Paris Climate Accord. However, this is due to different decisions. Syria was not present at the negotiations in the UN due to the civil war that is being carried out within said country. The United States, instead, decided to withdrawal from the Paris Accord and would try to renegotiate its entry due to alleged unfairness within the original treaty.

Nicaragua as a new member

The meeting will also have good news. It will be the first congregation since the entry of Nicaragua IGNORE INTO the Paris agreements. Now that all of the Latin American countries are part of the Paris Climate Accord, it shows the region’s commitment to the protection of the environment; its wishes to raise awareness of the global warming consequences.

The Daniel Ortega’s government didn’t sign the agreement before due to their belief that the Paris Accord was “insufficient” in addressing climate change. The Nicaraguan Government explained that despite the lack of ambition, “it is the only instrument we have in the world that allows us to unify intentions and efforts to face climate change and natural disasters”.

The German Panorama

Germany is also passing through an important political decision: the election of the German Chancellor. The results of the last elections determined that Angela Merkel would need to make a coalition with the Green Party, if she expects to get the majority in the Bundestag without the support of the Neo-Nazis. This coalition will mean that the Green Party will have power in the German government and will put the environmental issues as priority.

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This will mean a bigger commitment of the German government in the fight against Climate Change.

Rolle also assured that Germany will be a key player to achieve the accord’s goals, not only in reducing the CO2 emissions (that make up hardly more than 2% of the global emissions), but also in the technology aspect of it. “It’s correct and important that we in Germany show how climate protection can work (…) we have to deal with how our technological achievements for climate protection can be used worldwide”, assured the member of the Federation of German Industries.

A message of sustainability

The summit will try to send a message inviting individuals to use sustainable transportations and energies. The German Government will have at the event bikes as the main transportation method for the attending members. There will also be recyclable bottles and vegetarian menus.

The Bonn Conference will have 25,000 experts, 150 representatives of different nations, and 500 NGOs from all around the world.

Latin American Post | Santiago Gómez Hernández

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