German minister calls on 'superrich' to pay for climate

German Development Minister Svenja Schulze on Thursday called for greater contributions from the world's richest people to protect the environment.

"Billionaires have the greatest CO2 footprint but still contribute far too little to the solution," Schulze said ahead of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin.

The German minister expressed her support for the Brazilian proposal to tax the superrich to help pay for projects necessary to tackle the threats of global warming.

'Enough wealth in the world'

Schulze called for "record-breaking efforts for global climate protection" as diplomats met in the German capital to take part in the two-day summit that includes German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

The aim of the dialogue is mainly to prepare for this year's COP climate meeting in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

"The diagnosis is clear," Schulze said. "Public funds alone will never be enough to cover the needs for climate investments.

"At the same time, there is enough wealth and money in the world. That's why the initiative by the Brazilian G20 presidency to finally tax the global superrich fairly is so important," she added.

The minister, a member of Scholz's Social Democratic Party, stressed that progress has already been made.

"With the World Bank reform, we've been able to secure an additional $70 billion (€65 billion) in investments over the next years in climate protection and other global challenges," she said.

"Last year also a non-traditional donor, the [United Arab] Emirates joined us in paying into a new UN climate fund, the Loss and Damage Fund," Schulze added.

More funds for developing countries

Foreign Minister Baerbock said at the summit that industrialized countries like Germany "must continue to embrace our responsibility."

Germany has stuck to its financial pledges and will continue to do so, she added. The German government has earmarked €6.4 billion for this year and another €6 billion for next year.

Industrialized countries pledged to mobilize $100 billion a year for climate protection in developing countries from 2020, according to the 2008 Copenhagen Agreement.

But "public money will simply not be enough," Baerbock stressed. "We must get the private sector to invest significantly more in a safe, clean and resilient economy in developing countries," she added.

Leaders prepare for COP 2024

Representatives from around 40 countries will take part in the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, including G20 members such as the EU, US, China and India.

G20 countries are responsible for some 80% of global emissions.

Germany's foreign ministry said the Berlin meeting will discuss the feasibility of sticking to the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming that was set out in the Paris Agreement. Experts are skeptical that this goal can be acheived.

"Despite initial measures to limit CO2 emissions, the world continues to warm up and is headed toward unreversible climate catastrophe," Greenpeace's German chief Martin Kaiser said.

"To keep within the 1.5-degree limit and avoid human catastrophes on a much greater scale, the German chancellor should call on states to significantly raise their nationally stated contributions to reducing CO2 and to introduce the phaseout of oil and gas," Kaiser added.

The Petersburg Climate Dialogue has been taking place annually since 2010 in preparation for the COP summits.