Climate change action promised
BONN, Germany: The leaders of Germany and France have promised to limit the use of coal and urged more global action to combat global warming after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Paris agreement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s President Emmanuel Macron said the pact was only a start to reining in a rise in global temperatures, blamed for stoking more heat waves, floods and rising sea levels, and needed to be toughened.
‘‘Climate change is by far the most significant struggle of our times,’’ Merkel told delegates from nearly 200 nations attending a November 617 meeting in Bonn on ways of bolstering the Paris accord that aims to end the fossil fuel era this century.
Merkel said Germany needed to reduce its dependence on coal power in order to significantly cut emissions.
Merkel’s conservatives are seeking to form a new coalition government that includes the ecologist Greens, who are demanding steep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.
‘‘We know that Germany still uses coal to a large extent and coal, especially brown coal, should make a contribution to meet our (emissions reduction) goals,’’ Merkel said.
Macron said France aimed to close down all coalfired power plants by 2021 as part of action to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Macron, who will host a summit in Paris on December 12 about climate finance, said France would make up for a shortfall in US funding for the climate science research by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
‘‘They will not miss a single euro,’’ he said to applause. US contributions to the IPCC budget have been about 2 million euros ($NZ3.43 million) a year in recent years.
Trump, who doubts climate change is primarily caused by manmade emissions, said in June that he would pull out of the Paris Agreement and instead promote the coal and fossil fuel industries.
Merkel praised an alliance of US states, cities and companies called ‘‘America’s Pledge’’ to compensate for Trump’s decision. — Reuters