Germany’s new government to make foreign minister Baerbock international face of climate policy - media

Germany’s new foreign minister, Green Party co-leader Annalena Baerbock, will head up international climate policy for the first time in the ministry’s history, Süddeutsche Zeitung reports. This has traditionally been the responsibility of the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU), and the restructuring means it now has higher priority within the new coalition government. Baerbock from now on will also be the country’s chief negotiator at the UN climate conferences, the next of which, COP27, will be held in Egypt in November 2022. The Federal Foreign Office (AA) will work on establishing international climate partnerships, and German embassies abroad will receive additional tools to help strengthen cooperation with partner countries on this issue. Foreign climate policy will also be more closely entwined with other diplomatic activities in order to make better use of opportunities to exert influence on climate-related issues.

 The new government coalition under Social Democrat (SPD) chancellor Olaf Scholz has taken office on 8 December. Together with the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP), Scholz will lead a government that has committed to putting Germany on an emissions reduction path compatible with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Germany will be holding the G7 presidency in the first half of 2022, offering Scholz and Baerbock a first major opportunity to present their government’s plans internationally.