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Add to Preferred SourcesClimate change is already threatening many people’s livelihoods, with developing countries and emerging economies particularly affected. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusam-menarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is, therefore, working worldwide on behalf of the German Government in the areas of climate and energy.
‘International cooperation is vital if climate change is to be reversed globally,’ said Tan-ja Gönner, Chair of GIZ’s Management Board, at the annual press conference, adding that the worlds of politics, business, science, civil society and development cooperation need to work together closely.
Climate change mitigation and energy is, therefore, an important priority area in GIZ’s work. A third of the company’s work in the public-benefit business area relates to the climate.
‘The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly difficult to tackle: crop losses, diminishing livelihoods, hunger, and disease are posing a particular threat for developing countries,’ said Martin Jäger, Chair of GIZ’s Supervisory Board and State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). ‘To promote global climate change reversal and improve people’s prospects in the long term, we need to invest even more in development in the future.’
Together with its commissioning parties and partners, GIZ has already accomplished a great deal around the world: with GIZ’s support, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by an equivalent of 36 million tonnes of CO2 between 2015 and 2017. During this period, GIZ supported 14 million people in coping with climate change – for example through improved flood defences and insurance against damage.
Regional solutions tailored to local living conditions are a key factor for success. In South-East Asia, for example, GIZ supports rice farming on behalf of BMZ: with the help of satellites, more than 15 million hectares of arable land were monitored in order to better predict crop failures. The farmers concerned were then provided with swifter assistance in the event of damage.
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), GIZ is working with Chile to make the switch to renewable energy.
With GIZ’s support, the installed capacity of solar systems was increased to more than 2,400 MW, while the installed capacity of wind parks was increased to more than 1,700 MW.
GIZ is supporting the island state of Grenada in making the supply of drinking water more resistant to the effects of climate change for more than 100,000 people. The project marks the first time that GIZ has worked for the Green Climate Fund.
GIZ also takes responsibility for climate protection as a company: ‘Avoiding, reducing and offsetting greenhouse gases – that is our basic principle,’ said Gön-ner, Chair of the Management Board. Between 2015 and 2017, GIZ reduced CO2 emissions per member of the workforce in Germany by 4.6 percent. ‘GIZ aims to become climate neutral by 2020.’
In addition to climate and energy, important topics for GIZ’s work in fiscal 2018 were security and stabilisation, and displacement and migration. Projects relating to business and investment in Africa are also becoming increasingly important.
Through its work, GIZ assists people and societies in shaping their own future and improving living conditions.
Integrated Company Report, which contains these figures and further information and numbers is available in the German language.
Original source: GIZ
Published on 01 July 2019