Germany's diplomacy to pivot toward fighting climate change

Germany’s foreign minister says the nation's diplomatic priorities will tilt toward addressing the threat of climate change as one of the key global challenges of the 21st century

BERLIN -- Germany's diplomatic priorities will tilt toward addressing the threat of climate change as one of the key global challenges of the 21st century, Germany's foreign minister announced Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a member of the environmentalist Green Party, said Germany's 226 diplomatic missions worldwide will become “climate embassies."

This will require some “reorganization and reallocation of resources," she said, including with the appointment of a new German climate envoy, the former Greenpeace chief Jennifer Morgan.

The announcement Tuesday that Morgan would take on a senior government position prompted some grumbling in Berlin, including from opposition politicians who questioned why an American activist had been chosen for the post.