"Baby Steps" at the UN Climate Conference

On the one hand, they praised the Turkish government’s proposal to increase the global share of electricity in final energy consumption from the current 20 percent to 35 percent by 2035. Turkey will hold the presidency of the next UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya this November. Laura Schäfer of Germanwatch praised the initiative as a “positive sign.” “Now it’s crucial to back up this goal with concrete national measures.”

Oxfam climate expert Jan Kowalzig emphasized: “Electrification is, in principle, an important step toward climate neutrality, but only if it is accompanied by a consistent transition to renewable energy.”

As always, there is a dispute over “money”

On the other hand, the organizations agreed that the pace of the conference had been far too slow. “We’ve witnessed structural paralysis here in Bonn,” criticized Greenpeace climate protection expert Jannes Stoppel.

“Disputes over a lack of climate finance, conflicting geopolitical interests, and a lack of implementation mechanisms are forcing the negotiations to move at a snail’s pace, when what’s really needed are seven-league boots.”

As has so often been the case, “money” remained a source of great distress in Bonn as well, said Fentje Jacobsen of WWF Germany.

With an eye toward the World Climate Conference in Antalya, it is therefore not enough to keep postponing decisions: Clear financial commitments and concrete implementation plans must be put on the table well in advance to make further progress possible.

The climate crisis can only be stopped if coal, oil, and gas take a back seat and renewable energies shape the future.

Critics: Scientific Facts Are Being Disputed

Representatives from several countries, including Switzerland, Sierra Leone, and the Pacific islands—which are particularly affected by rising sea levels—criticized at a press conference that objectively established facts about climate change are increasingly being disputed during the negotiations.

They argued that the conferences are meant to find solutions to climate change, not to debate the current state of scientific knowledge.

Since the beginning of last week, 6,500 delegates from governments, the scientific community, the business sector, and civil society representing nearly all UN member states had participated in the Bonn conference. The main task was to prepare for the next World Climate Conference in Antalya.