Environment and Climate Change
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(© Auswärtiges Amt / cs)
The German government knows that a progressive climate policy is vital for a healthy economy. It leads to economic growth, employment, industrial innovation and greenhouse gas emission reductions. Germany has laid out a set of ambitious climate and energy goals with an outline of concrete steps to achieve them.
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German climate and energy policy
In the international dialogue on climate change, South Africa is an important partner to Germany. Climate and energy have therefore been a priority area of cooperation in German Development Cooperation with South Africa since 2008. There is potential for cooperation particularly in the field of renewable energies, but also in energy efficiency in the industrial and transport sectors.
Partner to South Africa in climate change
Since the 1970s, the social, economic and political landscapes of Germany have been transformed through the increasing awareness and activism of the people in the name of protecting the environment. To cite militant recycling campaigns or the use of fuel-efficient cars is to touch only the tip of the ice berg. Germans take a holistic approach to the environment and the bodies of laws, networks of organizations and simple actions of individuals on a daily basis contribute to an effective nation-wide environmental consciousness.
Germany: A green nation
Germany has long played an active and important role in international climate protection. From hosting ministers meetings or preliminary negotiations, participating in pivotal international conferences, to introducing a resolution in the UN Secutrity Council acknowledging the threat climate change poses for global security, Germany is in the forefront of advancing the protection of the earth’s environment and its populations.
Climate diplomacy
