Germany’s Merkel backs carbon pricing at UN climate summit

Berlin (dpa) – Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel backed carbon pricing as an effective tool for combatting climate change during her speech at a key UN summit on Monday.

“The European Union already has this kind of pricing model for the industrial sector. Others, for example China, are introducing this now,” Merkel said of the policy, which places a levy on emissions of carbon dioxide in a bid to incentivize investment in clean energy.

Merkel pushed for further discussion on the topic and for decisions to be made as the UN Climate Conference (COP26) got under way in Glasgow.

At the invitation of the United Nations, government representatives from around 200 countries plan to spend a fortnight in the Scottish city discussing how humanity can contain accelerating global warming.

“Once CO2 has a price, investors of private capital can also know in which direction to invest technologically,” Merkel said, adding that it is important to use not only taxpayer money in the fight against global warming but also instruments that make “economic sense.”

Overall, a large amount of investment is needed to meet global climate targets. The German leader referred to an estimate by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon that global climate change mitigation will require annual funding of 800 billion dollars.

In her speech, Merkel also announced a new energy partnership with South Africa on Monday as part of efforts to wind down the global coal industry.

Merkel described the initiative as an important “pilot project for many African countries.” She did not go into further detail.

The placeholder leader, who also praised Germany’s work with Colombia, Norway and Britain on forest preservation, called for more international cooperation in the face of climate change.

Merkel, whose coalition committed to closing down Germany’s coal-fired power plants by 2038, said such action was necessary to prevent global temperatures from rising further.

She praised the Group of 20 nations for agreeing to halt the public financing of coal plants abroad during their weekend summit in Italy prior to the climate conference.

However, observers have reacted with disappointment after the world’s 20 biggest economies failed to agree on target dates for carbon neutrality or phasing out coal.

Merkel expressed optimism that the catastrophic fallout of climate change could be avoided yet. “We know that the effects of climate change are devastating. And we must – and I also say we can – implement the Paris Agreement,” she told the COP26 delegates.

The chancellor called on developed nations to provide assistance to poorer countries.

“We must accept that we will not reach 100 billion dollars in funding until 2023,” she said, referring to industrialized nations’ goal of providing 100 billion dollars annually to poorer nations as early as 2020.