- Hong Kong man sentenced 14 months for wearing 'seditious' T-shirt
- Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of deadly blasts
- Equity markets, yen rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Meta and Spotify blast EU decisions on AI
- Hasan takes three as Bangladesh rattle India in first Test
- Two killed during police operation in New Caledonia
- Flood-hit region leaders to meet in Poland to discuss EU aid
- Sri Lanka to vote in first poll since economic collapse
- Hong Kong probe finds Cathay Airbus defect could cause 'extensive' damage
- AI development cannot be left to market whim, UN experts warn
- All Blacks primed for 'hell' of a Wallabies clash
- Japan firm says no longer makes radio reportedly used in Lebanon blasts
- Zoom fatigue? Try some nature in your background: study
- Boeing to start large-scale furloughs with Seattle strike talks stalled
- Japan walkie-talkie maker says investigating after Lebanon blasts
- Slipper to become most-capped Wallaby in All Blacks clash
- Tokyo surges on weak yen as Asian traders cheer big US rate cut
- Vast France building project sunk by sea level rise fears
- UK campaigners in green energy standoff reject 'nimby' label
- Rainbow warriors: Three things to watch at cycling world championships
- Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of device blasts
- China's 'full-time dads' challenge patriarchal norms
- What we know about the fire 'pandemic' plaguing Brazil
- X says Brazil service restoration 'inadvertent' and 'temporary'
- Amazon drought leaves Colombian border town high and dry
- Some Cubans depend on sugar water as food shortages bite
- Saudi crown prince says no Israel ties without Palestinian state
- Canada to further cut international student, foreign worker permits
- YouTube launches new TV-focused tools for creators
- White Sox heading for worst season in MLB history
- China the top challenge in US history: senior diplomat
- Hong Kong democracy tycoon's son warns time running out
- New migraine drugs no better than cheap painkillers: big study
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs again denied bail in sex trafficking case
- Brewers clinch division title as MLB playoff race heats up
- Man City blunted by 'giant' Inter in Champions League stalemate
- US stocks dip despite larger Fed interest rate cut
- Man City held by Inter as PSG pinch win in Champions League
- All Blacks recall Beauden Barrett for Australia Test
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 20, wound 450
- Spurs late show saves Postecoglou blushes at Coventry
- PSG snatch late goal to beat Champions League debutants Girona
- Gittens' late double gives Dortmund Champions League win at Brugge
- Man City blunted by Inter in Champions League stalemate
- Hidden talent: French Olympic star Marchand opts for disguise
- MrBeast named in California lawsuit over 'Beast Games' show
- Gauff splits with Gilbert as coach after 14-month run
- Hundreds of thousands at risk in Sudan's El-Fasher: UN
- Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge
- Venezuelan opposition candidate says letter conceding election was coerced
Germany taps Greenpeace chief Morgan as first climate envoy
Germany's foreign minister on Wednesday unveiled former Greenpeace chief Jennifer Morgan as her special climate envoy, as part of a pledge to put the battle against global warming "at the top" of the diplomatic agenda.
US-born Morgan, 55, who had been co-leader of Greenpeace International since 2016, will be the first person to hold the newly created role in Europe's top economy.
The eye-catching appointment comes as Germany's two-month-old coalition government, led by Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz, aims to pursue more global cooperation against climate change.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, from the ecologist Green party, introduced Morgan as "the face of Germany's international climate policy".
"Even in our foreign policy we are putting the climate crisis where it belongs: at the top of the agenda," Baerbock told reporters after Scholz's cabinet approved Morgan's appointment.
The appointment caused a stir in Germany, with supporters hailing it as a coup for Baerbock while critics accused the minister of blurring the line between lobbying and governing.
Morgan's US nationality also drew scrutiny, which Baerbock countered by saying Morgan was in the process of applying for German citizenship and that it suited the foreign ministry to have international staff.
The new role will see Morgan work as a special representative for international climate policy initially and as state secretary in the foreign ministry once she has acquired German citizenship.
Morgan said "time is running out" to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, requiring "international cooperation like we have never seen before".
After 30 years of environmental activism, Morgan said Germany's foreign ministry was where she could now "make the biggest difference".
Among Morgan's key tasks will be preparing Germany for global climate conferences like the COP27 in Egypt in November.
The German government has also pledged to use its G7 presidency this year to create a "climate club" of leading economies.
The aim is to agree common climate protection standards and avoid competitive disadvantages as countries transform their industries to reach carbon neutrality.
Germany itself is planning massive investments to green its economy, including by scaling up the use of renewable energy, to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.
The Greens' Robert Habeck, who heads Germany's new "super ministry" of economy, energy and climate protection, warned last month that the country had a "gigantic" task ahead.
- 'Radical views' -
Karsten Smid, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace in Germany, congratulated Morgan on Twitter. "We will miss you," he said.
Thomas Silberhorn, a lawmaker from the opposition CSU conservative party, condemned the appointment.
"The government apparently has a problem differentiating between government, activists and lobbyists," he told German media.
Lawmaker Lukas Koehler from the pro-business FDP, the other junior partner in Scholz's three-way coalition, told the Handelsblatt daily that Morgan's hiring had raised eyebrows given her "radical views" in the past.
Over three decades in the climate action arena, Morgan has developed a reputation as an uncompromising champion of peoples and nations worst affected by global warming and least able to protect themselves against its ravages.
She has attended every UN climate summit since 1995, and has close ties to US climate envoy John Kerry and EU Commission vice president Frans Timmermans.
Prior to becoming head of Greenpeace International alongside Bunny McDiarmid in 2016, Morgan worked for the Climate Action Network, WWF's global climate change programme and the World Resources Institute, among others.
Greenpeace drew controversy in Germany last year when a protester parachuted into a Munich stadium during a Euro 2020 football match, injuring two people. It later apologised for the botched stunt.
A.Rodriguezv--AMWN