The leaders of Britain and Germany have been challenged to throw their weight behind a shake-up of global finance to pay for climate action in developing countries.
The call comes as Germany hosts the three-day Petersberg Climate Dialogue, a summit laying the groundwork for Cop28 in the UAE.
The developing world is lobbying for funds to deal with climate-related disasters that are already unfolding.
German diplomats expect the issue of “loss and damage” — compensation for countries hit by climate change — to feature in this week’s talks.
Demands from poorer countries also include debt repayments being suspended when a climate disaster hits.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to host a summit next month on getting more money to the global south.
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz could use this week’s talks to build high-level support for the reform agenda, said Franklin Steves, a policy adviser at the think tank E3G and a former official at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
He said comments by Britain’s Development Minister Andrew Mitchell vowing to “transform international finance” were welcome.
But there are doubts whether Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shares the enthusiasm of Mr Mitchell, who has often sparred with his own party’s front bench on development policy.
Mr Sunak and Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt are “in theory supportive” but have not been visible in championing financial reform, Mr Steves told The National.
“It’s still uncertain whether Rishi Sunak will even attend the high-level political event in June,” he said.
Mr Scholz’s moves are being closely watched as critics in Germany claim his government has not done enough to tackle climate change.
Protesters from a group called The Last Generation brought traffic to a standstill for 10 straight days in Berlin this month.
Mr Scholz as a former German finance minister “has shown that he can successfully put financial topics on the international agenda”, said David Ryfisch, head of the international climate politics team at the Germanwatch think tank.
“It would be important for him to similarly set priorities at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue.”
Mr Steves said the financial reform talks could play out at this month’s G7 summit in Japan and at meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in the run-up to Cop28, which begins in Dubai in November.
The “central goal” of the talks in Berlin is to “strengthen trust in multilateral climate negotiations” and “facilitate the negotiations leading up to Cop28”, the German Foreign Ministry said.
“Although many countries share the goal of reducing emissions and expanding renewable energies around the globe, these are not easy negotiations,” it said.
“The countries around the table include severely affected island states such as the Marshall Islands, as well as the largest emitters of CO2 such as the United States, China and India.”
Cop28 itself is not the place where reforms to financial institutions would be negotiated in detail but the summit could build further political support, Mr Steves said.
He said some lenders had doubts about the reform agenda known as the Bridgetown initiative, after it was championed by Barbados’s Prime Minister Mia Mottley.
The Bridgetown proposals include redirecting at least $100 billion of unused banking assets to help developing countries meet budget needs.
Ms Mottley held talks in Barbados last week with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
RESULTS
Mumbai Indians 181-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata Knight Riders 168-6 (20ovs)
Mumbai won by 13 runs
Rajasthan Royals 152-9 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 155-4 (18.4 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more about the coronavirus
Company%20profile
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BLACKBERRY
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MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
Avatar%20(2009)
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