The world is still far from achieving sustainability in the way we live and work, and this is demonstrated by the enormous economic and social divides we see, said Angela Merkel at the annual conference. And, she added, "We are fast approaching the limits of what our planet can take; in some cases indeed the limits have already been exceeded." She thus believes that the coming G7 summit at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, and the UN Climate Change Conference at the end of 2015 call for responsible action.

Industrial states bear a huge responsibility

Industrial states have already excessively exploited natural resources in many fields. That is why they bear a greater responsibility for finding and taking a new way forward, with innovative technologies and a genuine paradigm change. "We need a paradigm change if we are to satisfactorily resolve the problems facing us. If we cannot manage, we will be forfeiting the opportunities of future generations."

The Chancellor gave the following examples to demonstrate how difficult things are: the imperatives of protecting forests and the need for farmland in order to produce food for the hungry. And the fact that power generation is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, although 1.3 billion people still have no access to electricity.

The political will exists for a climate agreement

At the end of September the United Nations intends to adopt global sustainable development goals for the first time ever at a summit meeting in New York. "These goals will be universally valid," stressed the Chancellor and welcomed the comprehensive approach. "This is a sign that we all face the same tasks."

Referring to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, which is to lead to the adoption of a new international climate agreement in December, Angela Merkel said that the political will to achieve an agreement is there, and would appear to be greater than ever before. Yet it is by no means certain that the conference will manage to produce the desired agreement. Meticulous preparations must continue, she said.

Developing countries need more help

The Chancellor also reaffirmed her call for greater financial assistance for developing countries to help them mitigate and adjust to climate change. One outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009 was the declaration issued by industrialised countries of their readiness to step up funding for climate action to 100 million US dollars a year by 2020. At this year’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue on 18/19 May the Chancellor pledged that Germany would double its current funding of two billion euros a year by 2020.

The motto of the 15th annual conference of the German Council for Sustainable Development was "A new equation of globalization and national responsibility. Ideas and innovations in sustainability politics". Against the backdrop of the UN negotiations on the global sustainable development goals, the conference focused on how global responsibility can be linked to national sustainability policy at this time.