At the conclusion of the fourth Petersberg Climate Dialogue, Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier called for a greater sense of urgency in national and international climate action. "Almost all countries are now committed to climate action and at national level are contributing to keeping global warming below 2°C. This development needs to be reinforced, and progress is needed at international level. This also applies to the EU, which must find a solution to the price decline in EU emissions trading as quickly as possible. We will only be able to inspire other countries to follow our lead if we have an effective emissions trading system", commented Minister Altmaier. He particularly welcomed the establishment of many innovative partnerships for additional greenhouse gas reductions to supplement national climate activities. He noted that these initiatives need to become more prominent and be better incorporated into the UN process.
Minister Altmaier also praised efforts by the private sector and civil society. "To be successful in our climate policy we need all stakeholders on board so we can work together to achieve the 2°C goal", he stressed. The participants in the fourth Petersberg Climate Dialogue emphasised that the adoption of a new climate agreement by 2015 is the top priority. They discussed possible compromises that would facilitate ambitious climate action. "In Warsaw we want to define important milestones and initial elements of the new agreement. Warsaw will be an important interim step on the path to adopting a new agreement", commented Minister Altmaier.
Ministers and high-level delegates from 35 countries, and the deputy Executive Secretary of the UN climate change secretariat, met in Berlin from 6 to 7 May 2013 for the fourth Petersberg Climate Dialogue. At the invitation of Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier and the Polish Environment Minister Marcin Korolec, who will be president of the next climate change conference, the participants discussed how to launch more climate action measures at global level and what results can be achieved in Warsaw at the next climate change conference. In her keynote speech at the dialogue meeting on Monday, Federal Chancellor Merkel emphasised the need to step up climate action worldwide in order to limit the impacts of climate change to a tolerable level.