German Ambassador Highlights Key Outcomes of COP 29 at Kigali Climate Talks
Kigali, Rwanda — On Friday, German Ambassador to Rwanda, Ms. Heike Uta Dettmann, addressed attendees at the Third Edition of the Kigali Climate Talks, focusing on pivotal outcomes from COP 29.
The event served as a platform for discussing global climate challenges and solutions in light of recent negotiations.
Ambassador Dettmann emphasized that Germany identified several critical topics at COP 29, including the new collective quantified goal on climate finance, emissions reduction, the implementation of the first global stock take, climate adaptation, carbon market mechanisms, and the significance of the gender action plan.
“In Germany, we have a feminist foreign and development policy, and the gender action plan is a key component of our climate strategy,” she stated.
Highlighting the global progress on energy transition, Dettmann noted that COP 29 resulted in a strong call for “no new coal” initiatives aimed at industrial decarbonization.
Additionally, she mentioned the success of the International Climate Club, initiated by German Chancellor Scholz during the G7 presidency in 2022, which has evolved into a widely recognized forum for climate dialogue.
Ambassador Dettmann also underscored the importance of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), echoing discussions from the first Kigali Climate Talks held earlier this year.
She stressed the necessity for countries to significantly increase their ambition in these commitments to align with the 1.5-degree temperature target outlined in the Paris Agreement.
A central theme of the Ambassador’s remarks was the crucial role of climate finance in the COP negotiations.
She addressed the newly established collective goal to raise international climate financing from $2 trillion annually to $3 trillion by 2035, acknowledging that while this increase is a step forward, many countries still face significant funding gaps.
“To sum it up, the results of COP 29 can be described as a mixed bag,” Dettmann said.
“While more efforts are required to achieve the Paris objectives, the agreement reached signifies that multilateralism is still functioning, even if imperfectly.”
The Third Edition of the Kigali Climate Talks provided an opportunity for stakeholders to reflect on the implications of COP 29 outcomes for climate action in Rwanda, fostering a collaborative spirit among nations to tackle the pressing issues of climate change.
