Comment: Rumble in the Jungle in Germany

Year after year... the world meets and negotiates about climate protection. This year, the Fiji Islands are actually hosting the conference, but for logistical reasons they have moved it to Germany. It's a pity, because the nearly 25,000 participants will be put out of action for the live demonstration, as it is when you literally have your water up to your neck. This is what happens to the population of the Fiji Islands, where the effects of climate change are already being felt to an extreme degree.

The two-week conference in Bonn went into full swing right from the start. Germany apparently remembered its image as a pioneer in climate protection and generously distributed millions of euros in donations to the world's poorest countries. Positive side-effect for the co-host: Nobody is talking about the fact that Germany will miss its own climate protection targets for 2020. And no one is talking about the German car industry with its fake exhaust emissions anymore.

The U.S. under Donald Trump, on the other hand, also returned to what they do best: rumble in the jungle. Because war-torn Syria, of all things, was making the Americans look like fools. The Syrian delegation announced that they wanted to join the 2015 Paris Agreement to help fight climate change. Nicaragua had already announced its participation earlier, leaving the United States the only country in the world (!) that doesn't want to have anything to do with the agreement any more... as Donald Trump doesn't believe in climate change.

However, because the U.S. administration didn't want to leave Syria's accession uncommented, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department emphasized the alleged irony of Syria's concern about the climate worrying so much about what is being blown in the air when gasing their own people... sensitivity not being a strong suit of the Americans.

Meanwhile, the French proved how do make it right. They want to celebrate the second anniversary of the Paris Agreement in December and asked delegates from around 100 countries to come together in Paris. The Americans haven't (yet) been invited to the party, to give the other participants a chance to celebrate in peace. It remains to be seen how Donald Trump will comment on this when he will return from Asia.