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The Week in Germany: Business and Technology

February 9, 2007

Ministers Link Trade, Environment at Nairobi Meeting as Germany Continues to Play a Leading Role in Environment Protection

A UN conference of environment ministers with a focus on altering global trade for the sake of the environment began in Nairobi on Monday. The 24th session of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council came days after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented a much-anticipated report which contained a stark warning about global warming and blamed man-made emissions for the problem.

"The environment has been looked at as an externality," said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. "We can no longer externalize these issues. Global trade and the environment are inextricably linked."

Sustainable management strategies already exist, Steiner added, including the certification of resources like timber and fish to avoid illegal exploitation, as well as green procurement mechanisms. "We need to harness the power of the consumer, match calls for international regulation from the private sector and set realistic standards and norms for the globalized markets," he said.

At the same time, the German government reiterated its commitment to climate protection in view of the IPCC report. "It's five to twelve. It's only if we move quickly to take action that we will be able to limit global warming to about two degrees. We must keep our minds open to new ideas," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said as reported in a government statement detailing Germany's leading role in climate protection.

In Nairobi, Denmark's Environment Minister Connie Hedegaard said she hoped the meeting would initiate a push for political and business leaders to begin factoring in environmental costs into their trade practices.

Achim Steiner

Steiner moreover highlighted the significance of World Trade Organization boss Pascal Lamy's presence - the first time the head of the global group has made an appearance at the ministerial-level environment talks.

Delegates at the five-day conference discussed ways to factor in environmental costs to global trade as well as other environmental issues such as the use of nanotechnology and the threat of mercury emissions. (TWIG/dpa)

Achim Steiner was elected as the new executive director of UNEP for a four-year term by the UN General Assembly in March 2006. He replaced another German, Klaus Töpfer.

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