Speaking in the German Bundestag, Federal Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen described the outcome of the Durban conference as "a landmark and substantial outcome" for global climate protection.

“The genuine breakthrough of this conference is a global agreement on climate change that will be binding for all countries,” underscored Norbert Röttgen. The agreement will be a “binding legal instrument” and will put in place a “new fundamental order in international climate policy”. Negotiations are to start before the end of 2012 and be finalised by 2015. The new instrument is to come into force in 2020.

At the conference it was decided to institute a second commitment period as of 2013 under the Kyoto Protocol, which is due to expire at the end of 2012. Canada has now officially withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol. “We are forced to note the wholly unacceptable step thus taken by Canada,” said the minister.

A question of global justice

“For the least developed countries, climate change is a question of life and death,” said Norbert Röttgen. It is an elementary issue of justice in our time because the people who have basically done nothing to contribute to the problem of climate change are those worst affected by the consequences. The Climate Change Conference could not have achieved this outcome without the strategic partnership between Europe and the least developed countries.

Negotiations and actions

Germany has offered to headquarter the new United Nations Green Climate Fund. “We would like to see this Fund established immediately,” stressed Norbert Röttgen. Germany will provide 40 million euros start-up assistance. The Green Climate Fund will be operational in 2012. “The funding of climate change mitigation measures is crucially important and a question of the credibility of industrialised countries,” said the minister. By 2012, German will make available a total of 1.26 million euros in additional funding.