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Remarks by Ambassador Scharioth at Tree-Planting Ceremony with Rotary Club of Washington, DC, and National Park Service on National Mall Good morning, Thank you very much for the appreciation. There’s a saying that goes: “In his life, a man should father a child, write a book, and plant a tree.” My wife and I have three children – all grown up; I wrote a book that nobody read, but I prefer reading books that others have written, rather than writing books that others have to read. As for the tree, my wife, our children and myself did plant a tree before. That was on October 3 of 1990, when our country was reunified – also thanks to the essential support of the USA - and we felt that we should do something to always remember that particular date. But that tree was much smaller than this wonderful cherry tree. Thank you very much for the honor. I think the theme “Save Planet Earth” that the Rotary Club DC has since 1991 is excellent, and I highly commend it. And I want to thank both Rotary and the National Park Service for this perfect location! It is not only very close to the Washington Monument. On the exact opposite side of the Monument, there is the German American Friendship Garden. Therefore, there is no better location for planting this particular tree. I thank the National Park Service that is our partner in this wonderful project and thus deserves an honorable mention for its efforts. When you come to this country as a foreigner, one of the most impressive experiences are the National Parks. I can avail myself of having visited around 30 of them, and it is each time a wonderful experience. Trees play a special role in German culture and in its mythology. We love our trees. Germany was the first country in the world that had a major reforestation program – already in the 19th century, an idea we exported to many other countries. And it is the only country in the world that has a special word in its language for the damaging of trees. It's called Waldsterben, and means, in its literal translation, “dying of woods”. The word dying normally is used in the context of human beings. That illustrates how intensive the relationship between us and the trees is. The Waldsterben changed our environment policy some 25 years ago when it caused many ambitious efforts to protect the environment in Germany. Environmental protection and climate protection policy play a very prominent role in German policy. Today, Germany has reduced its CO2-emissions by 20% since 1990, and it pledged to reduce it by 2020 by 36%. In this field, Europe and the US can and must be pioneers. We are among the world’s most innovative economies; we have top technology, top researchers, top universities; we have the two most integrated markets worldwide. Together we must turn the tide and jointly tackle the challenges of climate change. And we can only succeed if we do it together. Let’s do it. Thank you very much.
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