‘None of the Three Traffic Light Coalition Parties is Close to the Paris Agreement’

By
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At the climate conference in Glasgow, activists from various groups protested again – Leonie Bremer from ‘Fridays for Future’ was there too. How can climate protection and development cooperation work hand in hand?

FFF-activists at a MAPA ('Most Affected People and Areas')-protest. © FFF

By Jan Rübel

Jan Rübel is author at Zeitenspiegel Reportagen, a columnist at Yahoo and writes for national newspapers and magazines. He studied History and Middle Eastern Studies.

All contributions

By Leonie Bremer

Leonie Bremer is a 24 y/o activist fighting against injustice with fridays for future. Since a year, she is leading campings with FFF MAPA (most affected people and areas) against the Global North demanding them to stop funding the destruction in the Global South. Bremer has been press spokesperson of FFF Germany since 2019, she has organized the first continuous strike week in Germany and appeared in various talkshows. Before FFF, she was part of the occupation of Hambacher Forest in Northrhine-Westphalia. Besides her activism, Bremer writes her master thesis in the technology of renewable energies.

All contributions

Ms Bremer, has development cooperation missed the mark on climate protection so far?

Everyone goes to the Climate Change Conference (COP) because the planet is so important to us – at least that’s what the politicians say. But at the same time, we live in a system in which the Northern hemisphere completely exploits the Southern hemisphere. So what does that have to do with development policy? Does it mean we have to exploit other countries so that we can maintain our lifestyle? They simply say that a climate protection mechanism would be to plant trees in other countries – which really just means taking away people’s land that they have available to build houses and grow food. Therefore, we didn’t just miss the mark in the past. We are still doing it today: preventing real social development in the Southern hemisphere.

 

What do you think needs to change specifically?

We must stop fossil emissions now. Countries must agree on a year when they will put an end to fossil energies – and they will have to distinguish between countries that historically have very many or very few emissions. It’s definitely time to stick to the equity aspect of the Paris Convention. We need to start prioritising the countries that are most affected by the climate crisis, and we should start listening to them. The Global North has to stop covering up lies and should instead really start protecting the climate.

 

We have now had 25 conferences where absolutely nothing has happened.

 

What needs to change in development cooperation?

Well, what actually is development cooperation ...

 

... there are ministries, agencies and organisations in many countries that invest a lot of money in it.

But what does development policy actually mean today? For us at Fridays for Future (FFF), it does not mean that Germany determines what other countries need. The people should decide locally: What is needed? Where should the money go? The people in the global North certainly don’t know any better what is needed in Southern regions. That has to change fundamentally.  

 

Are FFF’s demands different from those of other environmentalists?

FFF is a movement; therefore, we have different demands than, for example, a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Our purpose is to communicate science, to communicate justice. But ultimately, we all stand behind the Paris Climate Declaration.
 

You mentioned the Global North. What are the biggest obstacles to effective action against climate change here in Germany?

Nothing that politicians in Germany do when they talk about climate protection is in line with the Paris Agreement. You have to think about that for a minute! The politicians and people in positions of power make us citizens believe that they are taking responsibility – but in all actuality our emissions level keeps rising. This misconception that everything will be fine is the fundamental problem. The fire is right on our doorstep, and the politicians go back inside and enjoy their coffee.

 

Do you think the new federal government will do things differently now?

(She laughs). It would be nice, but none of the three traffic light coalition parties is close to the Paris Agreement. Despite all the compromises I see on the horizon, the science is clear: We are nowhere near where we need to be, and that’s not going to change.

 

Poverty alleviation, climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation – do you consider that a trilemma, where all three problems need to be tackled equally, as it were, or do you prioritise one over the other?

I don’t know why I should prioritise one of these issues.

 

The climate crisis encompasses all crises.

 

If we don’t manage to keep global warming in check, extreme weather crises will dramatically impact our business and our lives. There will be less crop yields, landscapes will be flooded, and biodiversity will be massively disrupted, because many plant and animal species will no longer be able to survive in their traditional habitats. The climate crisis exacerbates poverty and hunger and leads to less biodiversity.

 

What can be done to address this trilemma together? How can we strengthen climate protection, reduce poverty through cultivation and fight the loss of biodiversity?

We all have to do our part. At the climate conferences, people are running around in suits and decide on absolutely nothing – all reckless politicians who are just going to the next dinner. We need people power now. We need to go there and make a stand so that politicians are forced to act responsibly. What we don’t need are people who are in politics for egotistical reasons and accomplish nothing else.

 

Should we give up cultivation of arable land in order to build up CO2 storage facilities?

We need crop yields and decentralised systems, not huge areas of arable land that destroy smallholder farming. We need food, and therefore we need arable land. What we don’t need are the hundred companies that are responsible for 71 per cent of global emissions.

 

Studienteilnehmende großer sowie von Frauen geführter Haushalte leiden stärker unter Ernährungsunsicherheit. (c) Friederike Krämer/GIZ
FFF-activists at a 'All for 1,5'-protest. The movement demands a budget clearly dedicated to the 1,5-degree goal from the coming governing coalition within its first 100 days in office. © FFF/Dominik Butzmann

Agriculture has two sides. On the one hand, it produces necessary food; on the other hand, it produces emissions and reduces biodiversity. How to deal with this issue?

Farmers do not choose to exploit their animals and destroy their land with pesticides because the system is supposedly so good. They are forced to do it because the political framework conditions are incredibly bad. There needs to be better working conditions, much better conditions for smaller farms, and we need to stop throwing away so much food. We have enough hunger in the world.

 

Should something change in German agriculture?

Besides strengthening small farms, we should figure out how to farm without pesticides and how to implement field monitoring. Farmers should also prepare themselves more for the fact that the climate crisis will have an increasing impact – and that some crops can no longer be grown.

 

Back to overview

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Climate change already affects the daily lives of people in the Global South. What are the challenges they face and what do these imply for negotiations at the climate conference in Glasgow?

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Investing in Healthy Soils: Curse or Blessing?

A Contribution by WWF

How investing in healthy soils provides incentives for more sustainable agriculture even as it demonstrates the need for far reaching changes in the agrisector.

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Soil Restoration Starts with the People

A Contribution by TMG Think Tank for Sustainability

Highlighting how secure tenure rights are key to achieving land degradation neutrality and soil restoration targets..

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How to Enhance Soil Organic Carbon – Uniting Traditional and Innovative Practices

A Contribution by GIZ

Indian farmers restore precious soil material combining traditional with innovative approaches. A case example how governance, agriculture and development cooperation can work together to combat climate change.

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Building Better Resilience to Transboundary Threats

A Contribution by the TMG Think Tank for Sustainability

Fuelled by climate change, desert locust plagues become increasingly frequent. A plaidoyer for a paradigm shift on handling transboundary crises.

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A New Mindset to Reform Agriresearch

A Contribution by Lennart Woltering (CGIAR)

In context of the 15th CGIAR System Council Meeting, Lennart Woltering shares his assessment of the ongoing One CGIAR reform process.

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Drugs and the Environment

A Contribution by Jorrit Kamminga

This year's United Nations World Drug Report highlights for the first time the nexus between illicit drugs and the environment. In view of climate change, it is time to feed the debate with facts and make drug policy greener

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Building climate-resilient and equitable food systems: Why we need agroecology

Agroecological methods target diversity and resilience and can thus promote the protection of forests, water and soil. Julia Tomalka and Christoph Gornott, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), on the potential of agroecology to safeguard against climate change and build resilient agri-food system.

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How are transformation and crisis intervention related, Dr. Frick?

An Interview by Jan Rübel

Martin Frick has been director of the WFP office in Berlin for a year – since then one hunger crisis has followed another. What are the diplomat's answers? A conversation about opportunities in agriculture, the interplay of multiple crises, the importance of resilience and tighter budgets.

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New UN Biodiversity Agreement

A Contribution by Rural 21

Nations adopted four goals and 23 targets for 2030 to foster biodiversity conservation and counter acceleration in the global rate of species extinction at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15).

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Five Questions for Dirk Meyer

An Interview with Dirk Meyer (BMZ)

Development cooperation needs to place good governance and a sustainable agri-food systems transformation at its center: After the first 100 days in office have passed, Dirk Meyer from the German Development Ministry (BMZ) spells out the goals, guidelines and priorities of the Ministry’s new lead.

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Fair Trade and Climate Justice: Everything is Conntected

A Contribution of the 'Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains' (INA)

Fair Trade organisations and the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA) have launched the #ichwillfair campaign during COP26 to highlight the link between global supply chains and climate change.

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COP27: Agri-food systems in the focus of the climate discussion

Stephanie Heiland, Project Manager at Sector Project Agriculture and part of this year’s Observer Delegation of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) at COP27, shares her insights on the role of agriculture and food systems at the climate conference. Among other things, she reports from GIZ’s COP27 side event ‘Climate resilient agriculture and food systems in times of multiple crises and fragility’.

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G7 Sustainable Supply Chains Initiative: From Commitment to Action

Future generations need more sustainable and stable agri-food systems. But how can this comprehensive transformation succeed and what responsibility does the private sector bear? These questions were the focus of the G7 Sustainable Supply Chains Initiative (G7 SSCI) side event as part of the ‘Champion Youth Action’ day at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27).

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Climate, biodiversity and nutrition are inextricably linked

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development sees sustainable agri-food systems as an opportunity to protect the climate, preserve biodiversity and ensure food security in the future. Dirk Meyer, Head of Directorate-General 1 at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, looks ahead to the upcoming COP27.

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Why biodiversity is important for climate protection & food security - and vice versa

The world is facing major challenges that need to be solved. We need to feed an ever-growing population, bring climate change under control and stop the loss of biodiversity. Martina Fleckenstein, Director of Global Policy at WWF, on what is expected from the climate conference in terms of biodiversity and biodiversity conservation.

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What connects gender and the environment

Women can play a vital role in the change process both when it comes to climate protection and adapting to climate change. But the reality is often still not quite like this: women and girls are particularly badly affected by the climate crisis. Is the topic of gender getting enough attention at the upcoming climate conference? Questions for Bettina Jahn from UN Women Germany.

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CompensACTION aims to reward farmers for climate performance

A Contribution of the Initiative

The CompensACTION Initiative for food security and a healthy planet, launched by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in 2022, is gaining momentum. It aims to financially compensate smallholder farmers for their contribution to preserving ecosystems. Initial successes have been achieved in Ethiopia, Lesotho and Brazil.

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“It created hope. It created a life”

An interview with Ally-Raza Qureshi, WFP

Iraq suffered many years of war, sanctions and economic crises. However, Ally-Raza Qureshi from the World Food Programme in Iraq sees progress. But now the effects of climate change are becoming apparent in the country. What is to be done?

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Farmers reap big from Climate Smart Farming

An Article by Angeline Ochieng & Victor Raballa

Journalists Angeline Ochieng and Victor Raballa visited Ms Bilha Munyole, a Kenyan farmer in Kimilili, Bungoma County, on her maize plantation. About the important role of mechanisation in climate-smart agriculture and in building resilience to the impacts of climate change.

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Think20 Policy Brief centres on Agroecology

Insights from the T20 Policy Brief

Given the urgency of transforming agricultural and food systems, GIZ India's Food Systems and Agroecology Working Group is exploring the potential of agroecology in collaboration with Think20 partners. A policy brief has now been published.

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"Climate change is unifying people from the region"

A Contribution by Jan Rübel

In the West Bank, political tensions and increasingly poor weather conditions are making farming more difficult. What needs to be done? Questions for Abbas Milhem, Executive Director of the Palestinian Farmers Union (PFU).

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Earth’s well, all’s well!

A Contribution by Fairtrade Germany

With the annual topic "Earth’s well, all’s well!", Fairtrade Germany is focusing on the concept of agroecology at all levels - and is thus taking the next step towards achieving greater global sustainability. At the Green Week trade fair, Fairtrade Germany will show how this can be achieved taking the cocoa supply chain as an example.

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Sowing change

A Contribution by Brot für die Welt

Roughly 800 million people suffer from hunger worldwide. Change is needed - for people and for the environment. Brot für die Welt reports on the starting points offered by everyone's ecological footprint and handprint.

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