G7 business groups - Strong climate deal “eminently important”

The G7 business associations, called “B7”, declared in their summit communique: “The B7 support a global climate agreement that contains comparable, verifiable and ambitious contributions from all parties and prepares the world for a substantial reduction of global emissions.” German association head Grillo said success in Paris was “eminently important”. The B7 also demanded a push for free trade, supply chain sustainability as well as support for efficient use of resources during the German G7 presidency. Germany will host the upcoming G7 summit on June 7/8.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday threw their weight behind an ambitious and urgent push to make the Paris climate summit a success. The international community must start work now in order to reach a clear, ambitious and binding commitment to limit climate change at year’s end, the German and French leaders said at the sixth Petersberg Climate Dialogue, which aimed to prepare the ground for an agreement in Paris.

“The discussion about safe, affordable and clean energy must not take place only at national or European level; It must become part of the global agenda”, Grillo added. Sadayuki Sakakibara from Japanese business association Keidanren said his country was paying “a great deal of attention” to Germany’s efforts to wean its economy from fossil fuels. Grillo said the effect of the Energiewende in Germany on other countries hinged on a single factor: “If the Energiewende becomes a success, it will become an export hit. If we end up in the Bermuda triangle, where German industry disappears, it won’t.”