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Germany teaming up with California to tackle climate change

Saturday, 10 June 2017 11:33 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 10 June 2017 1:16 PM ]

German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks speaks to welcome participants of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin on May 22, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Germany is teaming up with California to cooperate on tackling climate change following the US government's decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris agreement.

Europe's largest economy and the biggest US state in economic terms will back the work of the "Under 2 Coalition" climate group, German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said on Saturday.

"We cannot achieve our climate goals without the engagement of local and regional communities. That has become even clearer after the US withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement," Hendricks said after agreeing on the joint approach with California Governor Edmund Brown in San Francisco.

The Under 2 Coalition includes cities, regional governments and states seeking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions toward net-zero by 2050.

"California and Germany unite the world leaders in the fight against climate change, the existential threat of our time," Brown said in a statement released by the German ministry.

US President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris agreement drew anger and condemnation from world leaders and industry.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week pledged her country's continued commitment to the agreement, calling the US decision "very regrettable."

Hendricks said the German government would ensure that cities, communities and regions played an important role in the UN climate change conference in Bonn in November.

(Source: Reuters)

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