BERLIN (AP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande confirmed their commitment to fighting global warning Tuesday, gathering with others in Berlin to prepare for this year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference.
Merkel and Hollande said in a joint statement that both countries “are firmly decided to take all efforts to reach an ambitious, comprehensive and binding U.N. climate agreement by the end of this year in Paris.”
The preparatory talks in Berlin involve 35 countries. The Paris summit in December aims to curb climate change and rising global temperatures, which scientists say are largely driven by carbon emissions.
The European two leaders said they “are committed to the goal of limiting global temperature increases at least to below 2 C compared with pre-industrial levels.”
To achieve this goal, they said a fundamental shift of investment into low-carbon infrastructure and technologies is needed as well as climate-friendly land use.