Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks has commended the scientific community’s key role in combating climate change. At the Think 20 (T20) summit in Berlin today, Minister Hendricks said: "No other policy area has been driven forward as much by scientific findings as climate policy has". The T20 is a network of leading research institutes and think tanks from the G20 countries. As part of civil society, the network is developing joint, research-based and concrete policy recommendations to support the G20 political process.
Minister Hendricks commented: "Now it is crucial that we, the G20 countries, show courage and use the great opportunities that the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda offer us. It is about a global, structural transformation towards significantly more sustainable and more climate-compatible economic practices."
The Minister also noted that to achieve this, it is vital that global finance flows are redirected towards sustainable investments. Many universities worldwide have already started withdrawing their investments in fossil fuels and instead are investing in climate-friendly alternatives.
Minister Hendricks also welcomed the report of the High-Level Economic Commission on Carbon Pricing which was presented during the T20 summit. "The report highlights the importance of putting a price on carbon and shows how carbon pricing can be designed. We need effective carbon pricing as an incentive for investments in low-carbon infrastructure and technology." Over 40 countries and around 20 regions and cities have already begun using carbon pricing and carbon markets. Around 80 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) envisage the use of market-based approaches. Effective carbon prices are necessary to attract investments in low-carbon infrastructure and technology.
Under Germany’s G20 Presidency, the T20 is chaired by Dirk Messner, Director of the German Development Institute and Dennis J. Snower, President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Co-Chairs of the High-Level Economic Commission on Carbon Pricing are Lord Nicholas Stern (London School of Economics) and Nobel Laureate in Economics, Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia University). The T20 Summit takes place on 29 and 30 May 2017 in the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) in Berlin.