Your Eminence, dear Cardinal Turkson,
dear Ms McCarthy,
dear colleagues, experts, dear ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for the impressive input so far – I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you.
Ladies and gentlemen, Cologne is my hometown. Its history spans across 2,000 years, and it is roughly as old as the Roman Catholic Church itself – and its roots also lie in Rome.
1.1 million people now live in Cologne, which stretches across 40,500 hectares on both sides of the Rhine, and at the heart of which is Cologne Cathedral. The average annual temperature over the past 25 years has constantly been up to 2°C above the longtime mean. We are witnessing a decrease in precipitation of up to 25 per cent. Like all metropolises around the world, our emissions are far too high: over nine million tons of CO2 per year in the city!
The statistics are concerning! In addition to this is the danger to health and the environment: temperatures over 40°C, withering parks, deaths from heat, and a disastrous flood just outside the city in 2021 that resulted in over 130 people dead or injured, and left immense damage in its wake.
We all have an idea of the disasters that the climate crisis will bring about. And yet it takes great effort to change our course!
The following data illustrate Cologne’s shift toward becoming a Net Zero City: In 2019, the City Council issued a state of climate emergency, partially due to pressure from the “Fridays for Future” protests.
This was followed by the decision to strive for climate neutrality in Cologne by 2035. The following year, the City Council worked with businesses and civil society to draft and adopt a climate strategy that will be implemented with an action plan.
Parallel to this, we have made structural revisions to the city administration: We established a special Department for Climate, Environment, Urban Greenery (and Properties). We implemented a review of climate-related consequences for all decisions made by the City Council. And we require our large municipal group of companies to conduct business in a climate-neutral manner. These companies include the municipal energy providers, public transit, waste disposal companies, logistics providers, and a telecommunications company.
Cologne has a plan, the tools, and the expertise. Yet we are also aware of our limits! Our influence on our total emissions as a municipality is limited, and we are not even able to directly impact one third of the total emissions that Cologne generates. The City of Cologne’s action plan directly targets 15 per cent of the emissions.
This includes the energy-saving renovations of buildings, climate-friendly energy supply, sustainable mobility, helping businesses move toward a green economy, environmental education, and so on. However, this is not enough, even if we as a city impose additional measures on top of these.
The big question is, how will we be able to conserve 9 million tons of CO2 emissions every year?
I believe there are two key approaches to this, both of which are immensely challenging.
The first: getting society actively involved! We are striving to achieve this with a large-scale campaign, among other approaches. Yet we are also facing resistance. I see three major obstacles for Cologne in this regard:
Residents, in particular young people, distanced themselves from our state following the restrictions on freedoms imposed by the state during the coronavirus pandemic. Many of them perceived this as the state regulating even the most private aspects of their lives, and compensating risks with transfer payments. Now the public budgets are strained. More private and entrepreneurial engagement for the climate is needed, and yet the willingness is low.
Cologne was and is prepared to take in refugees who are fleeing crises around the world. International solidarity is extremely important to our diverse city!
I believe that this is one of Cologne’s strengths. And yet here, too, we are inhibited. Debates around distribution of refugees are stoked, and right-wing populists in particular approach migration and climate policy as though they were fronts in a culture war.
The mood in Germany has worsened. Many no longer trust society to solve the challenges of the present. These people lack a positive perspective, confidence and trust, partially due to the narrative of societal downfall expressed by populists on the right.
We now come to the second challenge: Cologne’s climate neutrality is contingent on decisions made in Berlin, Brussels and the UN. Because we do not want to give up on our Net Zero target, we need even more lobbying at these levels of government. Municipalities and all other willing and influential institutions must now put pressure on decision-makers at the higher levels.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would not be the Mayor of Cologne if I were not aware of my city’s potential, including with regard to the climate crisis and climate resilience. Two of our strengths are cohesion and cosmopolitanism!
Number one – cohesion: Cologne is diverse, and thus resilient and strong. Our city’s residents come from 180 countries. I am the Chairwoman of the Council of Religions, which promotes religious diversity in Cologne with people from over 140 faith communities.
In this committee, we mediate conflicts and seek out common ground. One commonality is the integrity of creation, the need for a way of life that considers the generations to come. This conference in the Vatican inspires me to further emphasise the issue of “climate-friendly conduct” and place it on the agenda of the Cologne Council of Religions, thereby reaching our city’s many communities.
Number two – our international responsibility: There is probably no city in Germany more interconnected than Cologne. We have 22 partner cities around the world as well as three climate partnerships, and are active in city networks such as the EU Net Zero Cities.
For these climate partnerships, experts and volunteers from Cologne work on site with civil society and municipalities. These projects include protecting a coastal city in Nicaragua from flooding, and establishing a recycling management system in Rio de Janeiro. These projects also teach us how climate protection can help combat poverty. We will use these approaches in the future to establish another international partnership in sub-Saharan Africa.
For me, this is a logical approach. As a municipality that will be heavily affected by climate-induced migration, we have to play our part in counteracting the circumstances that cause people to flee their homes. We in Cologne are aware that our responsibility for the climate does not end at the city limits.
Ladies and gentlemen, Cologne has its strengths: its diversity, its interreligious dialogue, its acceptance of responsibility at an international scale. Yet we are also faced with challenges that are beyond the city’s administration:
In order to achieve climate neutrality by the year 2035 we need national, European and international frameworks that promote climate-friendly action at both the individual and institutional levels. I would like to continue working toward this goal, and am pleased that we have the opportunity to discuss this matter today.
We need new faith in our ability to manage the current situation. This faith is lacking in our current discourse, but is critical to motivating humanity. The Roman Catholic Church has been spreading a message of joy for 2,000 years. We cities have much to learn from one of the world’s most resilient institutions.
Thank you very much for listening. Let us keep working together!