Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck opened the 11th Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD). Ministers and high-ranking delegations from over 130 countries and representatives of the business and scientific communities and civil society will discuss the financing of the global energy transition and present strategies for the further expansion of renewable energies.

Considerable effort is still needed in order to meet global COP28 target of tripling renewables capacity by 2030 and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. With the United States, the world’s 2nd largest emitter of CO2, again withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, there is a particularly acute need to redouble international cooperation and engage in constructive dialogue to facilitate a successful energy transition. More than ever, this 11th BETD sees itself as an implementation conference that puts the spotlight on concrete solutions for the global energy transition, with a particular focus on measures needed to achieve expansion targets and on the financing of the necessary infrastructure.

One of the BETD traditions is to present successful energy transition projects and highlight concrete approaches for solving current challenges. This year, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will talk with Indian entrepreneur Rashi Gupta and Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate & Green Growth at the African Development Bank about the interplay of politics and industry in the transformation of energy generation and the financing of the global energy transition.

As an international forum, this year’s 11th BETD will again offer a broad program of keynote speeches and high-profile international speakers, including Anshula Kant, Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Financial Officer, Barbara Rambousek, Director, Gender & Economic Inclusion at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Helen Clarkson, CEO of the Climate Group, and Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). IRENA will also present current figures at the BETD 2025 on the global expansion of renewable energies.

Dr. Simone Peter, President of the German Renewable Energy Federation (Bundesverband Erneuerbare Energie e.V., BEE): "Renewables have become the world’s leading driver for climate protection, innovation and value creation.

And yet greater ambition is needed if we are to meet the global target of a tripling of renewables capacity by 2030. This is where Europe has a key role to play.

In Germany, there is once again a significant momentum behind the expansion of wind and solar power. In 2024, renewables supplied nearly 60% of the total volume of electricity generated, while the nuclear phaseout was completed and energy generation from fossil fuel continued to decline. The transition in the heating and transport sectors, however, is still lagging. Under Germany's new government, investments in the continued expansion of renewables must be secured, and better use must be made of flexibility as the new guiding principle of the electricity market. Against the background of the current geopolitical situation, resilience and security are playing an increasingly significant role."

The German Government has hosted the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue since 2015; the conference is organized in cooperation between the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar), the German Energy Agency (dena) and eclareon.

More than 2,000 guests from more than 130 countries are attending the two-day BETD conference.