French ex-climate change ambassador: “Prepare for G20 climate showdown”

This year’s G20 summit in Germany will be “a test for governments, civil society, and companies to stick to” the goals of the Paris Agreement, France’s former climate change ambassador Laurence Tubiana said, Ed King writes on Climate Home. While US President Donald Trump’s sceptical stance towards climate protection troubled many environmentalists, Angela Merkel’s presumed advocacy for curbing global greenhouse gas emissions at the G20 “offers some relief,” King writes. Chancellor Merkel “is a leader” when it comes to UN climate talks, according to Tubiana. “The question is how far Merkel wants to push it, both at the G20 and in other forums,” King writes. He adds sources in the EU signalled that Germany and China recently discussed taking over the Major Economies Forum, “a group of 17 nations founded by the US in 2009 to talk climate.”

Read the article in English here.

For background, read the CLEW article IEA director calls on Germany to lead on climate during G20 presidency and the CLEW dossier The energy transition and climate change.