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EDITORIAL 3akzente 3/15 DEAR READER, we know about the ‘Incon- venient Truth’ (Al Gore). And we know that ‘the debate is settled’ (Barack Obama) and that ‘the science is clear’ (Kofi Annan). We are talking about climate change, a phe- nomenon that policy-makers and leading public figures now almost all agree ‘repre- sents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day’ (Pope Francis). This is not simply a political nightmare that we will wake up from at some point, as some people might have hoped a few years ago. This is very real. At the end of 2015, the world’s leaders will come together once again in Paris at what may well be the defining con- ference. Will they find the strength to con- clude a new, effective agreement on climate change? The rhetoric in the run-up to the summit is certainly positive, and the negoti- ating climate seems favourable. Everyone is looking expectantly at Paris, as are we. OUR AUTHOR Joachim Müller-Jung consid- ers in his essay why not all of the grim cli- mate predictions made over the last few years have come true. He also examines cli- matic changes that are already evident today and explores how people and countries are preparing for the negative impacts. Mary Robinson, the UN Secretary-General’s Spe- cial Envoy for Climate Change, explains in GOOD NEGOTIATING CLIMATE Dorothee Hutter, Director of Corporate Communications her guest article why all countries – both developing and industrialised nations – must now step up to the plate, albeit in dif- ferent ways. OUR REPORTS from abroad focus on finan- cial experts from Deutsche Bank who are supporting rice farmers in Thailand, young geriatric nurses from Viet Nam who are building a professional future in Germany, where they are badly needed, and strong fe- male entrepreneurs from Mali. OUR APP for tablets now offers lots of addi- tional interesting information on our akzente topics. For example, you can use the app to watch a video related to the report from Nicaragua. It shows how the arrival of electricity completely changed people’s lives in the village of Ocote Tuma. I hope you enjoy reading, clicking through and watching the videos from this issue, The challenges of climate change mitigation and GIZ’s contribution PHOTOS:ZINKID(PaGE2),GIZ/KARSTENTHORMAEHLEN(Page3)