Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck commented on the outcome of the World Climate Summit as follows:

“The path to a climate-friendly future has finally been paved. At COP28, the international community of states has committed for the first time to move away from all fossil fuels and to substantially expand wind and solar energy, especially in the period up to 2030. This will send a clear message to companies, markets and investors that the energy of the future is renewable and will be used efficiently. Despite this landmark outcome, much remains to be done so that we can truly consign the fossil era to history. As in Germany, priority must now be given to renewable energy at international level as well, and energy must be used much more efficiently. To make this happen, we need to work even more closely with our partner countries to create the conditions, remove obstacles, and make sure the financing is in place. The same goes for the orderly phase-out of all fossil energy – a big challenge for many countries. At COP28, the countries committing to a phase-out of coal included the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. Also, we have set up a broad international forum in the shape of the Climate Club in order to jointly progress solutions for the decarbonisation of industry. COP28 shows that the Paris Agreement is having an impact, and that there is a high level of willingness to embrace change in countries, companies and other stakeholders. We now need to make use of this momentum and realise the great opportunities in the transitions.”

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action considers the following results of COP28 as particularly important:

1. For the first time, there is a firm alliance of over 130 industrialised, emerging and developing countries that has set itself ambitious goals for a global energy transition – the Global Goals. These countries seek to jointly triple global renewable electricity capacities by 2030 and to double the annual increase in energy efficiency. In this way, they are responding to the need for a massive acceleration of the energy transition required worldwide to achieve the 1.5-degree target and are paving the way for the phase-out of fossil fuels.
2. By establishing the Climate Club at COP28, a political forum for global decarbonisation has been created for the first time. The Climate Club now has 37 member countries and aims to create lead markets for climate-neutral industrial products and open up climate-neutral prospects for energy-intensive sectors such as steel, building materials and the chemical industry. It is chaired by Germany and Chile.
3. The number of countries that have committed themselves to phasing out coal by the 2030s increased further at the summit. This coal phase-out alliance now has 167 members. It includes countries as well as regions, companies and organisations. The USA, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and six other countries have now also joined. They are all committed to a national coal phase-out for the first time.
4. Germany, Japan and Namibia have launched a global initiative for the mutual recognition of certification systems for hydrogen at the World Climate Conference. This will enable cross-border trading in renewable and low-carbon hydrogen and its derivatives in the future. The declaration has so far been signed by 36 nations.