Contents page 1 — The climate protection needs the Drama page 2 — dispute, Haggling and agreement at the last Minute On a page to read

climate summit are a paradoxical event. Since 24 years, thousands of delegates from nearly 200 countries once in a year, and they all share a common goal: to stop climate change. You could agree to fight him together in a fast and committed, had every advantage. But because each country has its own interests in the negotiations, oil-producing countries as well as poor developing States, and because in the end, each party to an agreement must agree to move forward only slowly.

Even dangerously slow compared to what would be necessary. Because climate change is already taking place, and it concerns all countries. That was just this year by floods, heat waves, and fires in Asia, Europe and America. In the meantime, the research can attribute such extreme events to human-made climate change. And the emissions are on the rise. Therefore, speed is of the essence. As very, the special report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change to 1.5 degrees was shown to target a couple of weeks ago. Anyone who has children needs to worry about the state of the world.

The sluggishness of the climate summit is, therefore, frustrating – and in Katowice it ran very tough. But the world needs these conferences anyway.

International cooperation is no longer accessible © Studio Line Alexandra Endres

editor in the Department of politics, the economy and society, TIME ONLINE

to the author of the page

The summit of Katowice was important, because to him the rules are adopted, the need to comply with the Paris climate agreement. In Paris, agreement was reached between the negotiators three years ago, to stop climate change, at the latest, with a mark of plus two degrees, but preferably considerably below. The euphoria was great, although the contract had weaknesses. Because, as the Paris climate objectives should be achieved remained open. At the time, it bothered hardly anyone.

However, since then, the world has changed. International cooperation is no longer en vogue, instead, more and more countries choose a policy of national strength. The US quarrel with China over trade policy, which does not facilitate understanding in other areas of diplomacy. Also in Katowice, the negotiations suffered from the conflict. The government of Donald Trump wants to get out, think out of the Paris climate agreement, and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, the holds of climate policy, come after, copy the United States.

The fight against climate change, the global Problem par excellence, makes this particularly difficult. In Katowice, it became clear how complicated it is to agree in matters of detail. But in the end, the Agreement managed to just yet. Some of the Detail has been moved to the coming year, and not all of the points of the final document was not as ambitious as it wanted the representatives of the poor, particularly affected countries and environmentalists. But when nearly 200 countries need to agree unanimously, it is in the nature of things.

of Course, the agreement of Katowice could have been better. Clearly, environmentalists, and development organisations to criticise its shortcomings. You have to do this. And because hardly anyone except the initiated understand what is the meaning of the diplomatic formulations, the quarrel among traders, because of the completion of documents over the past 24 years, have become so abstract that they are unlikely to look through, creates the impression that these annual summit circles around itself and the climate, nothing.