Top German diplomat calls for coordinated climate change fight

Berlin (dpa) – At a conference on energy transformation in Berlin on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that climate change increased threatened the peace and stability of entire regions.

“As a result of climate change drought, forest fires, floods and extreme weather events happen more often and with greater intensity,” Maas said.

In many parts of the world, people are losing their livelihood and are force to flee, he added.

As such, Maas called for stronger international coordination in the fight against climate change and major investment in competitive renewable energy sources. The minister said the beginning of the end of the age of fossil fuels is already under way.

Up to 86 per cent of the world’s electricity needs could be met by renewable energy sources by 2050, although doing so would require huge investment, according to one study from the International Renewable Energy Agency.