Water scarcity and drought are among the serious consequences of climate change.

Climate change and development

Climate and development are inextricably linked. Climate change is having severe consequences for people and the environment, especially in developing countries. If we manage to limit global warming as quickly as possible and adapt to climate change worldwide, then we will be able to prevent uncontrollable consequences for our planet and at the same time create new opportunities for the future. The German Development Ministry (BMZ) is supporting its partner countries in overcoming challenges related to climate change.

Social-Media-Kanäle des BMZ

Nearly all countries of the Global South are faced with the challenge of having to improve living conditions for a large proportion of their people and simultaneously adapt to the consequences of climate change. Moreover, many countries need to significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and manage the transition to a climate-friendly economy in a setting of growing energy demand.

The BMZ assists people in its partner countries in contributing to climate change mitigation and dealing with the consequences of climate change. This also fosters the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The necessary transformation must be equitable so that all groups within society have a part in it. This means that a successful climate policy must be in line with the principle of a Just Transition. No one must be left behind on the path towards a social and economic system that is characterised by climate neutrality, resilience and social justice.


COP29 | 11–24 November 2024 The BMZ at the COP29 climate conference

Logo: COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan
Logo: COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan

From 11 to 24 November 2024, the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) met in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29 (External link)).

The BMZ represented the German government on many negotiation issues and organised events at the conference together with partners. The recordings of the side events can be found on the website of the German COP pavilion (External link).

The climate-biodiversity-desertification nexus

In late 2024, all three Rio Conventions are holding their COPs. Apart from UNFCCC, this is the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

All three Conventions were launched in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. Together, they form a comprehensive framework for protecting the global environment. While climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification all have their own specific causes and impacts, they are closely interlinked.

  • Biodiversity is essential for adaptation to climate change, because healthy ecosystems are more resilient and, thus, less vulnerable to the negative impacts of global warming (see also Climate and biodiversity).
  • Soil conservation and the regeneration of degraded soils increase soil fertility and water retention capacities and facilitate carbon storage. Sustainable land use contributes both towards mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector and towards adapting agricultural and food systems to the consequences of climate change (see also Agriculture and climate).

Challenges

  • Just Transition: Making sure that the transition towards climate-neutral economies and lifestyles is just Internal link

    In order to keep the impacts of climate change within manageable limits, we need to ensure that lifestyles and economies worldwide become climate neutral by mid-century. This transition will only be successful if it includes emerging economies and developing countries – and it must be designed in a way that is socially just (Just Transition). No one should be left behind on the path towards climate neutrality and climate justice.

    A woman in Burundi reads by the light of a solar-powered table lamp.
  • Stopping global warming: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions Internal link

    The emission of carbon dioxide needs to be reduced rapidly and drastically so as to halt the increase in global average temperatures (“decarbonisation”). This will require protecting natural carbon sinks such as oceans, forests and wetlands. Agriculture, for instance, will have to be restructured in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.

    Solar plant and coal-fired power station in Ulan Bator, Mongolia
  • Enhancing resilience: Adapting to the impacts of climate change Internal link

    Climate change threatens countless people's livelihoods – and this threat will increase further in future. For that reason, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is not only funding climate change mitigation measures; it is also supporting its partner countries in adapting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change and, where adaptation is not sufficient, in dealing with climate change-related loss and damage.

    Construction of a embankment on the banks of the Mayur River in the town of Khulna in south-western Bangladesh
  • Loss and damage protection: improved support for vulnerable countries Internal link

    Loss and damage caused by climate change is becoming increasingly more frequent in many developing countries and emerging economies. That is why Germany initiated the Global Shield against Climate Risks during its G7 Presidency. At the global climate change conferences, too, Germany has been working to improve the support provided to vulnerable people and countries as they deal with loss and damage.

    A road in the Caribbean nation of St Lucia was washed away after heavy rain.

What we do

As at: 22/10/2024