UN Climate Change News, 27 April 2020 – This year’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue from 27 to 28 April will focus on how to pave the way for the international community to emerge from the acute coronavirus pandemic in a more resilient and climate-friendly way. The meeting will take place for the first time in virtual mode, which will also allow broader participation via social networks. The Petersberg Dialogue provides an annual forum for informal high-level political discussions focusing on the international climate negotiations and the advancement of climate action on the ground.

The Dialogue is hosted by Germany and will be co-chaired this year by the United Kingdom in its capacity as Presidency of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26. During the high-level segment on 28 April, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UN Climate Chief Patricia Espinosa and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be joined by 30 ministers, including UK Secretary of State for Business and Energy, and President of COP26, Alok Sharma, to take the discussions forward. Statements prepared by the high-level participants were shared ahead of the meeting.

The new virtual format of this year’s Dialogue presents the opportunity to engage a broad range of interested actors via social networks. In addition to the ministerial, negotiator and non-state actor video conferences, the aim is to facilitate a global conversation via social media on the following question: How can we jointly recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and make our societies and economies more climate-resilient and climate-friendly in the process?

To this end, participants have been invited to publish their statements on social media on 27 April, using the hashtag #PCD11. In her statement, UN Climate Chief Patricia Espinosa said:

“Covid-19 has not postponed the climate emergency. But the world’s recovery from it—if we get it right—can put us on a more sustainable and inclusive path, one that protects the environment, strengthens biodiversity and ensures the long-term health and safety of humankind.”

Watch full statement below.

See statement by UN Secretary General António Guterres and ministers here.

To cater for the different time zones of participants, the event will take place from 2 – 4 pm Central European Summer Time (CET.)

The high-level speeches and ensuing discussion can be followed on 28 April at 15:10 CET here.

The German government has been organizing the Petersberg Climate Dialogue since 2010. In its first year, the event was held on the Petersberg near Bonn. 

See official website of the German Environment Ministry here.