Minister Gabriel and Senator Kerry in Favor of a New Green Deal
German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel joined Senator John Kerry (D_MA) at an event hosted by The Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF) and the Bucerius Law School on April 29 to speak about tackling climate change and the transition to a green economy.
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- Environment Minister Gabriel and Senator Kerry talk about climate change and the transition to a green economy.
- (© Ralph Alswang)
Minister Gabriel praised the new tone evident at the Major Economies Forum on Climate and Energy, hosted this week in Washington by the Obama Administration. He said there has been a “complete turnaround” in the atmosphere of the negotiations since the last talks organized in Washington in 2007.
Mr. Gabriel encouraged the audience to look at the opportunities a green economy can bring, rather than the barriers. He spoke of the 280,000 new jobs created in the renewable energy sector in Germany in the last few years and said this figure would be doubled by 2020.
Senator Kerry spoke with conviction about the repercussions of climate change if global warming is allowed to continue unabated, calling it “the equivalent of the threat of a nuclear war.” But Kerry also called creating a green economy simple economic common sense for the future because it creates jobs.
He cited the example of Shai Agassi, an Israeli entrepreneur who is installing an electric car network for thousands of electric cars in Israel. The production of the electric cars means profit for the car maker, and the green transportation network means Israel will be much less dependent on foreign oil imports.
Senator Kerry suggested there was no reason these kind of projects could not take hold in the US, and predicted the emergence of several green US start-ups in the coming decade.
