Commissioner Arias Cañete in Berlin to discuss key tasks for fulfilling new global climate deal

Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete will participate in high-level discussions on the requirements for implementing the new global climate change agreement when he visits Berlin from 4-5 July.  Ministers attending the annual Petersberg Climate Dialogue will consider the main tasks now facing countries as they prepare to put the Paris Agreement into practice. Discussions will focus on four key themes: main tasks after Paris; challenges and good practices for developing long-term, low-emission development strategies; making the shift to climate-friendly investments; and expectations for the upcoming climate conference in Marrakesh (COP22). German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks will host the meeting together with the Moroccan Foreign Minister and incoming President of COP22, Salaheddine Mezouar. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will give a keynote speech.  Maintaining political impetus will be crucial in ensuring the swift implementation of the Paris Agreement, as highlighted by the Commission in its decision in June 2016.  In the margins of the main meeting, Commissioner Arias Cañete will meet with members of the High Ambition Coalition – the alliance of developed and developing countries that were instrumental in securing a successful outcome in Paris. He will also hold bilateral talks with China’s Special Representative on Climate Change, Mr Xie Zhenhua, US Climate Envoy Jonathan Pershing and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Christiana Figueres, and other partners. The next round of UN climate change talks – COP22 – is scheduled for 7-18 November in Marrakesh. It will have a strong focus on efforts to step up international climate action before 2020 and should deliver further progress on the key elements of the Paris package. This includes access to finance, assistance with technology and developing and strengthening the skills and processes needed in developing countries to implement their domestic climate plans. More information about the Petersberg Climate Dialogue is available online