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Bonn. They will present a wide variety of approaches and measures to climate change mitigation to learn from each other and to find others beyond their own circles prepared to follow in their footsteps. For we need a global alliance of all states, in which all sections of society are included. This is about a comprehensive transformation towards the most sustainable possible lifestyle – in social, ecological and economic terms. That is why the Paris Agreement is closely linked with the 2030 Agenda.Our revised German Sustainable Development Strategy includes the global goals for sustainable development. Our aim is to look at the economy, the environment and social issues together and to take interdependences into account in our decisions. These decisions range from the purchase of everyday goods to long-term private and public investment – whether, for example, they concern the modernisation of infrastructure or the transformation of energy systems.The OECD – and I would like to express my thanks to Mr Gurría and his staff – has drawn up a study on ‘Growth, Investment and the Low-Carbon Transition’. According to this document, we will have to increase investment in sustainable infrastructure – transport, energy, telecommunications – by roughly ten per cent around the world in the next 15 years if we are to meet the two-degree target. The OECD believes that this extra expenditure can be recouped. For using more efficient technologies will save costs. Of course, cost avoidance due to fewer burdens resulting from climate change also has to be taken into account. The OECD has even come to the conclusion that we could achieve more growth through a common climate policy for all G20 states. In Germany, we have already seen that prosperity and sustainability can indeed go hand in hand. This is demonstrated, among other things, by a wide range of efficiency technologies which have made many of our companies leaders on the global market.Nevertheless, this is about huge sums which have to be found before they can be redirected towards sustainable investment. The state level alone will quickly reach its limits. That is why we need more private investment. The more companies take part in this, the quicker we’ll advance towards better climate protection. The energy transition in Germany shows that despite the great effort involved, advancing along this path is worthwhile. Once a start has been made, once the breakthrough of a new technology has been achieved, then costs go down. That is an important lesson. The technological know-how gained can then benefit poorer countries which still lack their own research and development capacities.There have already been palpable results: the price of energy generated from renewable energies has fallen considerably around the world. The United Arab Emirates is one example. Solar installations have been built there which produce energy for three US cents per kilowatt-hour. There is a similar situation in Morocco with regard to wind farms. In Germany, we are relying more and more on tenders when it comes to promoting renewable energies. In the case of photovoltaic systems, costs are starting to fall further. The first round of bids for off-shore wind farms far surpassed our expectations. Some bids do not even require promotion. When I think back to how we supported the first ten gigawatts, then I realise how much leeway we have. We can now say that around one third of the energy consumed in Germany is generated from renewable energies. Despite their rapid expansion, the security of supply continues to be guaranteed. However, there is no denying that we still have a few challenges to master. For instance, we have more possibilities to generate energy than we have to store or transport it. That means that the bottleneck in Germany is no longer due to power generation but quite clearly due to the question as to how we get the energy to where it is needed and how to better store it. Those who succeed in future in finding ways to store energy will have a broad range of uses for their know-how.Of course, we not only need progress in the energy sector but also in all other spheres – for example, buildings or transport. The spread of digital technology opens new opportunities. Pictured: Angela Merkel© European Union , 2017 / Source: EC - Audiovisual Service / Photo: Mauro BottaroTHE G20 MEMBER COUNTRIES 023