Need global cooperation to resolve Iran war crisis, seize opportunity for energy transition – foreign office
Clean Energy Wire
Resolving the current crisis resulting from the war in Iran should be the priority of global cooperation, but countries should in parallel discuss how to seize the opportunity to advance the energy transition, said Gerhard Schlaudraff, climate and energy policy representative at the German Foreign Office.
“We must resolve the crisis as fast as possible, also in regard to food security, but also look at what it means for the energy transition,” said the official at an event in Berlin. “How can we seize this opportunity?”
Jochen Flasbarth, state secretary at the environment ministry, said the crisis showed how vulnerable countries dependent on fossil fuels are. “We have to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels,” he said. “We do not want to make windfall profits from the terrible situation, but we must recognise how dependent we are in a fossil energy world, and how much freer we would be in a world without this dependence,” the German official added.
The comments come ahead of several global climate and energy meetings. Against the backdrop of the energy crisis and rising geopolitical tensions, diplomatic efforts to get climate change under control are shifting into higher gear this week. At the invitation of the German government, high-level representatives from around 40 countries will convene in Berlin at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue from 21-22 April to prepare for November’s UN Climate Change Conference in Turkey (COP 31).
NGO Germanwatch called on participants to capitalise on the new momentum to reduce fossil fuel dependencies and send a strong signal for effective international climate cooperation. “We need to forge alliances to enable real progress,” the NGO wrote. “It is precisely on the issues that have proved difficult so far – the phase-out of oil, gas and coal, as well as international climate finance – that action is now needed.”
On 21 April, European Union countries are set to agree an update to the joint climate and energy diplomacy approach at a meeting of foreign ministers. A draft seen by Politico shows that a key element focuses on accelerating the transition to clean energy, a topic that will also feature prominently in an international conference on phasing out fossil fuels at the end of April. The conference in Santa Marta is a joint initiative by Colombia and the Netherlands, as global efforts to transition away from climate-damaging fuels continue to stall in formal UN climate negotiations.
“The phase-out of fossil fuels is a key component of the energy transition and must finally be implemented with determination,” climate NGO WWF commented ahead of the event. “The conference in Colombia can and should finally provide a space for open dialogue, breaking the deadlock in negotiations, and give impetus to implementation.”