Germany will unveil an initiative at UN talks on climate change this week to attract more private investment in projects in Africa and elsewhere, Development Minister Gerd Mueller said. Mueller told the RND newspaper network that Germany would "send a strong signal" at the UN climate conference in Katowice, Poland with its Alliance for Development and Climate initiative and a pledge to spend an additional 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) on climate protection.
Expectations are muted for this week's meetings given divisions within Europe, and tension between the United States and China. Delegates from about 195 nations will seek to produce a "rule book" to flesh out details of the Paris Agreement of 2015, which the United States, at the behest of President Donald Trump, has announced it will quit.
Mueller said it was imperative to help countries such as Brazil, India, China and many nations in Africa to develop their ability to provide electricity for their growing populations without relying on coal production. "We can help spark leaps in development," he said. "We have the technology and the knowledge."
More than 70 companies had already signed up for the new German initiative, he said, which seeks to boost private funds for climate projects in developing countries and emerging economies. "Even without a concrete date for the end of coal production, Germany will send a strong signal in Katowice," Mueller said.
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