Upon the invitation of Germany’s Foreign Federal Office and the Goethe Institut, Climate Change Commissioner Rachel Anne Herrera and seven other experts participated in the learning exchange program “Climate Policy for 2050” held in Berlin and Hamburg, Germany from 19 to 25 June 2022.
Participants from Costa Rica, Finland, Israel, Japan, Kurdistan region of Iraq, Mozambique, and Romania joined Commissioner Herrera to the roundtable discussions and meetings with German ministry units, research institutes, and universities to explore German policies toward reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Germany has set ambitious targets of 80% greenhouse gas reduction by 2045 and renewable energy and energy efficiency will be the standard for investments to keep their economy competitive in a decarbonizing world.
“I thank the German Government for extending the invitation to the Philippine Climate Change Commission (CCC) to this learning workshop. The relationship between Germany and Philippines remains strong and positive. We are already working on many fronts, import of exchanges and sharing of experience towards increased climate change capacities,” said CCC Secretary Robert E.A. Borje. “Rest assured that we will sustain this international engagement to address the existential threat of climate change and its impacts,” he added.
Forging ahead on climate action, the Philippines has always taken on important leadership roles in international climate diplomacy and in crafting more effective and more equitable international climate policies. As a country most vulnerable to climate change, the Philippines can learn a great deal from Germany in a wide range of fields from transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate adaptation such as through flood protection, disaster risk reduction, and sustainability.
“We hope to count on Germany as a strong partner in this particular endeavor for climate justice and equity, bound not just by our shared goals for a more sustainable future, but by our shared understanding that no nation is safe from the climate crisis until all nations are,” Herrera said in a meeting with German officials.
The group was hosted by Ambassador Hinrich Thölken, Federal Foreign Office Special Advisor on International Climate and Energy Policy in a roundtable discussion on international climate efforts and partnerships, and met with Dr. Martin Weiß, Head of Division KB1 Climate Protection Programme at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action to learn about the country’s specific policy and market-based mechanisms towards targeting net-zero emissions by 2045.
They also engaged with subject matter experts such as Dr. Oliver Richters of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; energiewaechter GmbH (energy and building sector industry consultants) representatives led by Prof. Dr. Eckhart Hertszch, Professor for Sustainable Urban Neighbourhoods at the Technische Universitat Berlin; and Spreeakademie Managing Director Sebastian Zoepp, on climate risk management and socioeconomic research, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and just transition from coal mining in the Lusatia region.
In Hamburg, they visited the Climate Service Center (GERICS) where Dr. Peer Seipold, Head of Department, and Ph.D student Mr. Cristóbal Reveco presented the extensive work of GERICS worldwide to assess the impact of climate change on private sector planning and investment. Thereafter, the group toured the Hamburg port city waterfront, together with the Ministry of Transport and Mobility Transition Agency of Roads, Bridges and Waterways (LSBG) where Mr. Jan-Moritz Müller of the Water Bodies and Flood Protection Division, Hydrology and Water Management Department presented the city’s latest programs to protect against floods and storm surge.
The tour also provided more opportunity to learn about climate-resilient hydrology studies through discussions with Dr. Horst Sterr, geographer and Professor Emeritus of the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel together with his team of experts on sea level rise and flood risk management in the context of the Baltic Sea and North Sea, with aspects of nature-based solutions and information and education campaigns targeting the community.
Herrera also paid a courtesy visit to the Philippine Embassy in Berlin Chargé d’ Affaires Lilibeth Pono to urge continued cooperation between Germany and the Philippines in pursuit of productive exchanges on science-based climate planning and programming.
