German Environment Minister Gabriel Coming to Washington, DC, for Energy and Climate Talks
Press Release
German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel will arrive in Washington, DC, on Sunday, April 26, for political talks. He will represent the Federal Government at the two-day climate protection conference, the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, to which US President Barack Obama has invited the 16 states with the highest emissions of greenhouse gases.
Also on the agenda for Minister Gabriel’s three-day trip are talks with representatives of the US administration, members of the House and Senate, as well as representatives of American companies and political institutes.
Minister Gabriel: “The time is ripe: at the end of this year in Copenhagen the international community will adopt a new global climate treaty. After a long silence, the USA is finally present again at the negotiations as a partner. It is pleasing that President Obama has taken the initiative and invited to Washington those states who are most important for climate protection for a dialogue. In Congress there is a progressive climate protection law on the table. These developments are encouraging. We need very ambitious measures from the USA as one of the largest climate polluters.”
President Obama has made clear that despite the economic and financial crisis he is determined to transform the United States into a low-emissions economy and to achieve a comprehensive climate protection treaty at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. A bill is on the table in the US Congress that proposes the implementation of US emissions trading according to the European model.
“The most recent developments show that the USA wants to meet its responsibility in climate protection. In my talks in Washington, I want to put forward that ambitious climate protection and economic growth go together. The transformation of our economic system toward more resource and energy efficiency, the expansion of renewable energies are the answer to both the global finance crisis and the climate crisis.“
The aim of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, to be held at the Department of State on April 27-28, is to lay the ground work for a successful outcome at the UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December. It will also encourage dialogue between key developed and developing countries and advance initiatives that increase the supply of clean energy.
