Today, representatives from the spheres of politics, business, academia and civil society from the Kingdom of Belgium and the Federal Republic of Germany convened in Berlin for the 6th German-Belgian Conference. In light of the current challenges, the focus was on how the two countries can work even more closely together to halt climate change and shape the energy supplies of the future. The aim is to find common solutions and approaches through cooperation between the governments at national and regional level, particularly in border regions, as well as between enterprises and research institutions and through exchange within civil society.

International climate diplomacy, climate change mitigation and security

Germany and Belgium are working to achieve substantial progress at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh in November. Last year’s flood disaster and the persistent drought this year have caused devastating damage and claimed many lives in both countries. We need to increase our efforts to rapidly and significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has further underscored the need for an ambitious energy transition. By accelerating our shift away from fossil fuels, significantly boosting energy efficiency and driving forward the expansion of renewable energies and the necessary development of infrastructure on a massive scale, we are now making our countries and economies more resilient and climate friendly. In foreign policy, the relationship between climate, peace and security is becoming increasingly clear.

Energy policy

Germany and Belgium have long enjoyed close ties in the area of energy policy and are partners in regional groups such as the Pentalateral Energy Forum (Germany, Belgium, Austria, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland) to coordinate energy supply in western Europe, or the North Seas Energy Cooperation. Our energy centres are linked by pipelines and power lines. In the course of the diversification process away from Russian gas, Belgium, with its major LNG terminal in Zeebrugge, has become Germany’s second most important gas supplier. In terms of its installed offshore wind energy capacity, Belgium is the number six worldwide, and Germany the number three. Both countries are working with Denmark and the Netherlands on a cross‑border project to tap the energy potential of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea – always bearing in mind the impact on the environment, people and animals. Together we want to work to ensure that efforts to overcome the current energy crisis go hand in hand with a significant acceleration of the energy transition in Belgium and Germany, and throughout Europe. We agree that the ambitious expansion of renewable energies is a crucial pillar of European sovereignty and for bolstering Europe’s economy in the long term. In future, it will be possible to use the existing energy infrastructure for the transportation of green hydrogen. Belgium and Germany are focusing on this forward-looking technology in their respective national hydrogen strategies and regard themselves as partners in this field. German-Belgian partnerships with third countries could serve as a good vehicle for developing these projects.

Raw materials

In safeguarding the supply of raw materials, Belgium and Germany are aiming to strengthen the circular economy, improve the recycling of raw materials and ensure sustainable imports from reliable partners in order to prevent new dependencies.

In all the above-mentioned fields of energy, hydrogen and raw materials policy, we want to continue to liaise closely, develop trilateral projects and achieve progress both within the European Union and internationally.

The 7th German-Belgian Conference will take place in Brussels. We will jointly decide on the thematic focus and the date.