Befitting the climate crisis, the conversation with Jennifer Morgan began shortly past twelve. It was an intense and exciting hour of talk with Germany’s Special Envoy for International Climate Action in Table.Media’s café on Thursday. Half chat, half interview, it gives a good impression of how big the task will be to achieve results at the next COP in Dubai. If you would like to re-watch it, you can find it here.
Morgan and the German government, like many other climate campaigners, have ambitious plans. At and in the run-up to the COP in the oil and gas country of the United Arab Emirates, far-reaching resolutions are needed: A global fossil fuel phase-out, a functioning loss and damage committee, a reform of the World Bank, a global goal for adaptation, finally the promised 100 billion dollars in climate aid, a focused review of climate policy at the Global Stocktake. And that is just the beginning.
Many thanks go to Jennifer Morgan, all participants and most importantly to the professional team at Table.Media for their preparation and support. It will not be the last Table.Live briefing.
If you enjoy this issue, please forward us. If this mail was forwarded to you: You can test our briefing free of charge here.
Germany is calling for a concrete global target for the expansion of renewables by 2030. “We need a terawatt target for renewables by 2030 at the COP in Dubai,” said State Secretary and Special Envoy for Climate Protection at the German Foreign Office, Jennifer Morgan, in an interview with Table.Media. This is one of the German government’s priorities on the path to COP28, which will take place in Dubai in December.
More details and a concrete terawatt target are expected to be announced by the Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA, Francesco La Camera, next week in Berlin. That is when the “Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue” will take place at the invitation of the German Foreign Office. Shortly before, Denmark’s Climate Minister Dan Jørgensen proposed that the global phase-out of fossil fuels should be compensated by “1,000 gigawatts of renewables per year”. That would mean about six to seven terawatts by 2030.
Morgan also laid out other priorities of her ministry for the current year and COP28 during the Table.Live Briefing:
For example, the organizational structure of the planned fund loss and damage fund will have to be clarified by the time of the COP. At the end of March, a UN “transitional committee” will begin its consultations to give shape to the fund agreed at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. However, there is unlikely to be agreement yet on which countries should contribute to the fund. This will coincide with the debate on which countries should be responsible for global climate financing starting in 2025.
Morgan expressed optimism about a global target for climate change adaptation at COP28: “Yes, I think we will see a goal,” she said. “In order for adaptation to work, it needs to be local and involve local communities.” What is important are national adaptation plans in affected countries.
From Germany, another goal for COP is a decision to phase out fossil fuels worldwide. “We are working on it, we need a breakthrough and the emissions peak before 2025,” said Morgan. “If not now, when?”
The industrialized countries must finally mobilize the 100 billion dollars in climate aid for poor countries already pledged for 2020. “We have to achieve this,” said Morgan. Another type of financing beyond national budgets is also necessary. Among other things, Morgan mentioned a tax on airline tickets or skimming off profits from the fossil fuel industry.
In Germany, the Foreign Ministry is also fighting to increase funding for international climate action in the national budget to six billion euros for 2025.
The Global Stocktake (GST) at COP must also not only take stock. (“We know we are off track”, said Morgan), but also identify ways to achieve the Paris climate targets. This would apply to reducing emissions, adaptation and redirecting capital flows in a climate-friendly way, the “shifting of trillions”. Bernhard Pötter/Nico Beckert
“We only have seven years left to halve global greenhouse gas emissions,” says Jennifer Morgan. In COP negotiations or whenever she talks to politicians, she emphasizes this urgency. And she tries to point out the connections: Climate change, she says, is key to sustainable development and protecting health.
When Morgan read the IPCC Synthesis Report on the impacts of climate change, published on Monday, she was both “deeply moved” but also “more determined than ever. Hundreds of millions of people will be affected by loss and damage,” she said. The global community is facing a “monumental problem“.
She praised the authors of the IPCC report as her “heroes”. Thanks to their work, Morgan can now say in COP negotiations, “Look at these graphs. The decisions we make here will have an impact for thousands of years.”
Politicians have not done enough in recent years. The scientific facts speak clear language. “Every tenth of a degree counts,” says Morgan. Many countries “feel the urgency and the consequences of climate change every day”. Other states, however, are suffering less so far. They would pursue their own interests, which stand in the way of climate action. And yet, all humankind is in a crisis. “If not now, when?” the climate envoy said in response to the question of whether fossil fuels had to be overcome. With the words “we are close to the edge”, Morgan called for decisive action.
When it comes to loss and damage financing, Morgan believes it is important to get as many donors on board as possible. The “difficult question” is: which countries should make payments? So far, UN regulations stipulate that only industrialized countries (Annex 1 countries) should pay. Rich emerging countries like China are not obliged to do so. But this consensus will end in 2025. According to Morgan, the question of which countries will pay into the fund will not be settled before COP28. But the organizational structure of the fund should be ready before the summit, she said. Morgan also called for mobilizing other funding sources, pointing out the importance of involving the private sector. But innovative financing mechanisms would also be required, like windfall profits taxes for fossil fuel companies, airline ticket taxes or bunker fuel taxes.
After the pandemic, developing and emerging countries are facing a debt crisis. Many states are threatened with default. In the case of climate disasters such as extreme weather events, these countries are overburdened, says Morgan. It will be important that the affected states are then allowed to suspend their debt servicing.
The World Bank and the IMF also need to be reformed, Morgan suggests. Poverty reduction must remain the clear goal of the World Bank. But the measures would have to be designed in a way that is compatible with climate action. Morgan expressed hope that the US candidate for the new World Bank chair, Ajay Banga, will do a lot for the climate. Banga, formerly CEO of Mastercard, has “lots of experience to bring in the private sector”, she says. Involving private donors is important to complement public funds.
“The World Bank must contribute to lowering the cost of capital” in African countries, Morgan demanded. Interest rates in many African countries are far above ten percent, so investments in otherwise competitive renewable energies are not worthwhile. “The G20 is also discussing this issue,” Morgan said.
Morgan praised the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for building green industries: “We have long waited for such decisions”. There are “good debates with the US” about the specific content and implementation of the IRA. But for all the praise for US green industrial policy, Morgan warned that a subsidy race with the US should be avoided. According to Morgan, representatives of developing countries repeatedly warn against it during talks.
In the wake of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the supply of raw materials and the securing of supply chains for green industries are becoming increasingly important, Morgan says. Countries that have such raw materials see stronger opportunities. However, the extraction of raw materials must be “environmentally and socially sound”.
Befitting the climate crisis, the conversation with Jennifer Morgan began shortly past twelve. It was an intense and exciting hour of talk with Germany’s Special Envoy for International Climate Action in Table.Media’s café on Thursday. Half chat, half interview, it gives a good impression of how big the task will be to achieve results at the next COP in Dubai. If you would like to re-watch it, you can find it here.
Morgan and the German government, like many other climate campaigners, have ambitious plans. At and in the run-up to the COP in the oil and gas country of the United Arab Emirates, far-reaching resolutions are needed: A global fossil fuel phase-out, a functioning loss and damage committee, a reform of the World Bank, a global goal for adaptation, finally the promised 100 billion dollars in climate aid, a focused review of climate policy at the Global Stocktake. And that is just the beginning.
Many thanks go to Jennifer Morgan, all participants and most importantly to the professional team at Table.Media for their preparation and support. It will not be the last Table.Live briefing.
If you enjoy this issue, please forward us. If this mail was forwarded to you: You can test our briefing free of charge here.
Germany is calling for a concrete global target for the expansion of renewables by 2030. “We need a terawatt target for renewables by 2030 at the COP in Dubai,” said State Secretary and Special Envoy for Climate Protection at the German Foreign Office, Jennifer Morgan, in an interview with Table.Media. This is one of the German government’s priorities on the path to COP28, which will take place in Dubai in December.
More details and a concrete terawatt target are expected to be announced by the Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA, Francesco La Camera, next week in Berlin. That is when the “Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue” will take place at the invitation of the German Foreign Office. Shortly before, Denmark’s Climate Minister Dan Jørgensen proposed that the global phase-out of fossil fuels should be compensated by “1,000 gigawatts of renewables per year”. That would mean about six to seven terawatts by 2030.
Morgan also laid out other priorities of her ministry for the current year and COP28 during the Table.Live Briefing:
For example, the organizational structure of the planned fund loss and damage fund will have to be clarified by the time of the COP. At the end of March, a UN “transitional committee” will begin its consultations to give shape to the fund agreed at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. However, there is unlikely to be agreement yet on which countries should contribute to the fund. This will coincide with the debate on which countries should be responsible for global climate financing starting in 2025.
Morgan expressed optimism about a global target for climate change adaptation at COP28: “Yes, I think we will see a goal,” she said. “In order for adaptation to work, it needs to be local and involve local communities.” What is important are national adaptation plans in affected countries.
From Germany, another goal for COP is a decision to phase out fossil fuels worldwide. “We are working on it, we need a breakthrough and the emissions peak before 2025,” said Morgan. “If not now, when?”
The industrialized countries must finally mobilize the 100 billion dollars in climate aid for poor countries already pledged for 2020. “We have to achieve this,” said Morgan. Another type of financing beyond national budgets is also necessary. Among other things, Morgan mentioned a tax on airline tickets or skimming off profits from the fossil fuel industry.
In Germany, the Foreign Ministry is also fighting to increase funding for international climate action in the national budget to six billion euros for 2025.
The Global Stocktake (GST) at COP must also not only take stock. (“We know we are off track”, said Morgan), but also identify ways to achieve the Paris climate targets. This would apply to reducing emissions, adaptation and redirecting capital flows in a climate-friendly way, the “shifting of trillions”. Bernhard Pötter/Nico Beckert
“We only have seven years left to halve global greenhouse gas emissions,” says Jennifer Morgan. In COP negotiations or whenever she talks to politicians, she emphasizes this urgency. And she tries to point out the connections: Climate change, she says, is key to sustainable development and protecting health.
When Morgan read the IPCC Synthesis Report on the impacts of climate change, published on Monday, she was both “deeply moved” but also “more determined than ever. Hundreds of millions of people will be affected by loss and damage,” she said. The global community is facing a “monumental problem“.
She praised the authors of the IPCC report as her “heroes”. Thanks to their work, Morgan can now say in COP negotiations, “Look at these graphs. The decisions we make here will have an impact for thousands of years.”
Politicians have not done enough in recent years. The scientific facts speak clear language. “Every tenth of a degree counts,” says Morgan. Many countries “feel the urgency and the consequences of climate change every day”. Other states, however, are suffering less so far. They would pursue their own interests, which stand in the way of climate action. And yet, all humankind is in a crisis. “If not now, when?” the climate envoy said in response to the question of whether fossil fuels had to be overcome. With the words “we are close to the edge”, Morgan called for decisive action.
When it comes to loss and damage financing, Morgan believes it is important to get as many donors on board as possible. The “difficult question” is: which countries should make payments? So far, UN regulations stipulate that only industrialized countries (Annex 1 countries) should pay. Rich emerging countries like China are not obliged to do so. But this consensus will end in 2025. According to Morgan, the question of which countries will pay into the fund will not be settled before COP28. But the organizational structure of the fund should be ready before the summit, she said. Morgan also called for mobilizing other funding sources, pointing out the importance of involving the private sector. But innovative financing mechanisms would also be required, like windfall profits taxes for fossil fuel companies, airline ticket taxes or bunker fuel taxes.
After the pandemic, developing and emerging countries are facing a debt crisis. Many states are threatened with default. In the case of climate disasters such as extreme weather events, these countries are overburdened, says Morgan. It will be important that the affected states are then allowed to suspend their debt servicing.
The World Bank and the IMF also need to be reformed, Morgan suggests. Poverty reduction must remain the clear goal of the World Bank. But the measures would have to be designed in a way that is compatible with climate action. Morgan expressed hope that the US candidate for the new World Bank chair, Ajay Banga, will do a lot for the climate. Banga, formerly CEO of Mastercard, has “lots of experience to bring in the private sector”, she says. Involving private donors is important to complement public funds.
“The World Bank must contribute to lowering the cost of capital” in African countries, Morgan demanded. Interest rates in many African countries are far above ten percent, so investments in otherwise competitive renewable energies are not worthwhile. “The G20 is also discussing this issue,” Morgan said.
Morgan praised the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for building green industries: “We have long waited for such decisions”. There are “good debates with the US” about the specific content and implementation of the IRA. But for all the praise for US green industrial policy, Morgan warned that a subsidy race with the US should be avoided. According to Morgan, representatives of developing countries repeatedly warn against it during talks.
In the wake of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the supply of raw materials and the securing of supply chains for green industries are becoming increasingly important, Morgan says. Countries that have such raw materials see stronger opportunities. However, the extraction of raw materials must be “environmentally and socially sound”.
