Chancellor Scholz calls 2023 potential turning point in fight against climate change

German chancellor Olaf Scholz called 2023 a potential turning point in the fight against climate change, reports Zeit Online. "2023 could be a defining moment," he said at the Climate Ambition Summit, part of the ongoing UN General Assembly taking place between 19 and 26 September in New York. Scholz gave three reasons for why 2023 could be considered a turning point. First, industrialised nations are finally able to offer 100 billion U.S. dollars for climate financing, which is considered a foundation for progress at this year's COP28 climate conference. Second, the G20 countries decided to triple their renewable energy capacity by 2030. Finally, the so-called Climate Club, which Scholz initiated, has welcomed 27 countries in total. “Human-caused climate change is without a doubt the biggest global challenge of our time,” Scholz was quoted as saying by Zeit Online in another article.

Greenpeace has criticised the speech, calling it “unbelievable,” according to the paper. This criticism comes after the German coalition government agreed to change its climate law, effectively weakening targets. Greenpeace said Scholz is “embarrassing himself internationally” and compromising Germany’s position as a role model on climate. Others were less critical. Germanwatch, a policy non-profit, said they noticed from the summit “a few positive signals for a successful COP28 in December.”