Going it alone in environmental policy is economically risky. Chancellor Scholz would like China and India to participate in the future international climate club, which is intended to set higher standards. The idea was well received in Egypt.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he received "broad support" for his idea of an international climate club at the UN climate conference. In the morning, many countries from all over the world took part in a broad discussion on the subject. This included both industrialized countries and countries that wanted to achieve greater economic development for themselves, said the SPD politician.
"Everyone said it's a sensible idea. We have to pursue ambitious goals when it comes to stopping man-made climate change," said Scholz at the end of his visit to the United Nations meeting in Egypt known as "COP27". "We can take different paths here and at the same time we have to ensure that those who move particularly quickly do not suffer from the fact that cheap and, in this case, dirty competition contributes to endangering this path."
It is therefore necessary to join hands in the fight against climate change. This is the idea of the climate club, where you want to agree on common rules and standards. This is a way of daring to advance quickly on national climate targets without having a negative impact on global competition.
When asked whether China's participation was necessary for the success of the international climate club, which has so far been backed by the group of seven major industrial nations (G7), Scholz said: "I think it is necessary for all countries in the world to decide for themselves "To be there. And big countries like India and China are very important. They will continue to be a large part of the world economy, and a growing one." It is therefore all the more important that ambitious climate protection goals are pursued there. In June, the G7 countries agreed to set up an international climate club this year. This should be open to all countries.
At the end of his visit, Scholz called for the release of the hunger-striking Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abdel Fattah. "Something has to be decided now, a release must be possible so that the hunger strike doesn't end fatally," said Scholz. Abdel Fattah has been on a hunger strike for seven months and, according to his family, he has not drunk any water since the start of the UN climate conference on Sunday.
According to a German government spokesman, Scholz addressed the condition of Alaa Abdel Fattah in a bilateral meeting with Egypt's controversial head of state, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The chancellor called the activist's situation "very depressing". His condition is so serious "that we all have to fear that it will lead to very terrible consequences".
Anglo-Egyptian activist Abdel Fattah was a key figure in the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak. The activist for freedom and human rights has already spent large parts of the past decade in prison. He was most recently sentenced to five years in prison in 2021 - during the tenure of President al-Sisi. He has been in prison since 2019. Abdel Fattah is said to have spread "false information" - a common accusation against dissidents.
