Green Weimar Triangle should become a driving force for EU climate policy

Berlin (23. Mai 2024). The environment and development organization Germanwatch welcomes the agreement reached by the Foreign Ministers of Germany, France and Poland to include trilateral cooperation in climate foreign policy as one of the three pillars of the Weimar Agenda. To this end, they launched a "Green Weimar Triangle" yesterday. "It is a good decision to give the Weimar Triangle an additional green pillar. Germany, Poland and France are sending an important signal shortly before the European elections: climate protection should be a high priority for the EU and is a central component of security policy in Europe and the world," says Lutz Weischer, Head of Germanwatch's Berlin office.

"However, the agreed Green Weimar Triangle should not just be about foreign policy. The governments of the three countries should now also use the triangle as a driving force for European climate and energy policy. The Green Weimar Triangle should provide impetus for a strong EU climate policy on the path to climate neutrality. Among other things, the EU heads of government should place a clear focus on effective climate policy in the EU's strategic agenda for the next five years and set an ambitious climate target for 2040." Germanwatch calls on the Environment and Climate Ministers of the three countries to swiftly discuss concrete measures for an ambitious and just climate policy that is compatible with the 1.5-degree target in order to support the implementation and further development of the European Green Deal. 

The Triangle can be a decisive driver of decarbonisation

In view of the upcoming new EU legislative cycle and the approaching Polish EU Council Presidency, the time is ripe for the start of a trilateral energy and climate dialog between the environment and climate ministers of the Weimar Triangle.

The document adopted in Weimar yesterday also contains references to cooperation on green innovations and investments. The three industrial powerhouses together emit almost half of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU and are jointly responsible for 43 percent of industrial production. Marion Guénard, expert for EU climate policy and French-German cooperation at Germanwatch: "The Weimar Triangle is crucial for accelerating decarbonisation. Together, the three countries have the potential to develop EU initiatives for climate-neutral innovations and investments and end the EU's dependence on fossil fuel imports from autocratic regimes. With their different approaches to investments, the three countries can be a driving and unifying force for an EU industrial policy that advances climate neutrality."

An alliance of research institutions, environmental organizations and other civil society actors from the three countries, including Germanwatch, had called for the establishment of a "Green Weimar Triangle" last April and intends to support the initiative further. "The Green Weimar Triangle is more than just a political initiative - it is a vision of a secure and united green Europe for all of us," emphasizes Sylwia Andralojc-Bodych, expert for EU climate policy and Polish-German cooperation at Germanwatch.