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From Kyoto to Copenhagen - Germany to Press Forward with Ambitious Climate Goals

Climate: The challenge of reaching a post-2012 international agreement on climate change remains.
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Following the success of the UN Climate Conference in Bali, the future looks bright as regards a new international climate change agreement for the period beyond 2012. As Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel announced before the German Bundestag, Germany intends to press forward with its ambitious goal of achieving a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Global warming is an increasing threat and the ever-growing demand for energy in industry continues to push up energy prices. As he announced in his policy statement, Minister Gabriel believes this scenario highlights the urgent need for a strategy towards sustainable energy production. Renewable energy plays an important role, he said, adding that Germany has much to offer in this sector.

But Gabriel stressed that the most important issue is whether effective climate change mitigation is possible alongside attempts to boost economic growth. He remarked that although the necessary restructuring efforts in global industry are still at the "teething stage", considerable progress had been achieved following the UN Conference in Bali last December.

Minister Gabriel said the outcome of the conference provided "an excellent basis" for serious negotiations on how industrialized and developing countries can reach a consensus on adopting a more stringent climate change agreement than the existing Kyoto Protocol. Along with the Bali Roadmap adopted in December, these negotiations should give rise to a new, post-Kyoto agreement.

Attended by some 11,000 delegates and involving a number of long and drawn-out debates, the UN Climate Change Conference on the Indonesian island of Bali charted the course for a new negotiating process to be concluded by 2009 that will ultimately lead to a post-2012 international agreement on climate change. During the conference, EU representatives had tried to get the industrialized nations to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by between 25 and 40 percent by 2020. Yet in the Bali Roadmap, this target only receives mention by way of a footnote.

Trailblazers: Europe and Germany serve as possible examples of combining climate protection and economic development, Minister Gabriel said.

Trailblazer Europe, Trailblazer Germany

The European Union had already promised to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 – and by as much as 30 percent if an international agreement comes to fruition. If this happens, Germany, as already announced, aims to reduce its emissions by no less than 40 percent.

Minister Gabriel called upon the European Union to pursue its ambitious goals in a determined and targeted manner.

In the coming week, the EU Commission will announce how it intends to implement the energy and climate change package agreed last year. Among other things, the package is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, reduce EU primary energy use by 20 percent and ensure 20 percent of renewable energy sources in the EU energy mix.

The Environment Minister stressed that in some areas, there was a need for improvement before the EU set about implementing its package. Firstly, the agreed climate change mitigation activities must be made competition-neutral. This applies, for example, to the target of restricting CO2 emissions from passenger vehicles to 120 grams per kilometre.

In the end, said the minister, what is really needed is for the world’s industrialized nations to agree on a 30 percent cut in their greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Although no consensus had been reached on this in Bali, Gabriel reaffirmed the German government’s stance, saying that it "stands firm in its climate change policy commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent to support achievement of the EU’s 30 percent target."

Combating fuel poverty

Given the huge rise in energy prices, Minister Gabriel called upon energy suppliers to offer a nation-wide, long-term Sozialtarif – lower energy prices for the poor. People on low incomes are being particularly hard hit by the rise in prices, he said, adding that "energy and fuel poverty have no place in a country as affluent as Germany."

While lower energy prices for the poor are already offered by a number of regional suppliers in the E.on group, they are only available for a limited period or to a limited number of households. Minister Gabriel said that further action is needed to ensure that such provision amounts to more than a PR campaign to drum up business.

Since 2000, prices have risen by 46 percent for electricity, by 100 percent for gas and by 70 percent for heating oil. During that time, the annual energy bill for a three-person household has risen from around 1,300 euros to 2,200 euros.

January 18, 2008

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