Climate protection as a world citizen movement
Climate policy is getting nowhere, while climate change continues unchecked. Yet in the midst of this crisis of humankind there is new hope. It has to do with strong movements towards sustainability that have recently been forming everywhere in civil society: social networks, cities and local councils, religious communities, business alliances and clubs of nation states – they are all expanding initiatives to combat climate change, and encouraging political decision-makers to move beyond their day-to-day business and act decisively. As a result, responsible policy-makers are gaining valuable allies in efforts to overcome multilateral deadlock and shape a future without climate chaos. This interaction between these players might make an ambitious agreement possible in Paris next year. These are the conclusions of the WBGU's new special report 'Climate Protection as a World Citizen Movement', which was presented to Federal Environment Minister Dr. Barbara Hendricks and State Secretary Dr. Georg Schütte (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) on the occasion of the UN Secretary-General's Climate Summit in New York. In its report, the WBGU recommends a dual strategy for international climate policy: on the one hand, the planned Paris Agreement should codify the global phasing-out of fossil CO2 emissions and thus serve as a guide; on the other, civil-society initiatives that take on responsibility and make their own contributions towards a low-carbon economy and low-carbon lifestyles should be supported.