Steinmeier: Address at the University of California Berkeley, USA on August 29, 2007

Mr. Chancellor,
distinguished members of the academic community,
ladies and gentlemen,
dear friends,

It is an honour and pleasure to be with you today. Over the last two days, I saw the world's northernmost library, the world's northernmost university, the world's northernmost hospital and wine cellar. A town less than one thousand kilometers from the North Pole, an outpost of civilisation which is fascinating. The place I left to come to sunny California is called
Spitzbergen, the northernmost island in the Arctic. I am still taken by the incredible beauty of that pristine and fragile environment, shining glaciers precipitating into the polar sea and unforgettable wildlife. However, the scientists I spoke to had no good news. Due to accelerated climate change the ice is melting rapidly , sea levels are rising, the polar bear is struggling for survival. At the same time, new challenges for foreign and secuity policy are emerging: a race for oil and gas in the Arctic, estimated at 25 per cent of the world's reserves, has begun. Given these threats, the impression I got is that there is not much time left for us to act against climate change and work out together how to best make use of our planet's natural resources in a responsible way.

And that is is why I came to California. This is a place where you - like we in Germany - have taken up the struggle against climate change. Together, we are exploring today new frontiers in energy and climate research, developing cutting-edge technologies for renewable energy and setting ourselves ambitious goals for capping carbon emissions.

I have come here to Berkeley because it is a renowned center of academic excellence. Both American and German scientists are at the forefront of scientific research, especially in the field of environmental protection and alternative energies. Silicon Valley and the Bay Area stand for an extraordinary concentration of brain power and the synergy it produces in leading edge research. The success story of this area has been an incentive for us to give our research institutions more focus by inviting them to join forces in clusters of excellence. Thus, our key research institutions - such as the Max Planck Gesellschaft and Fraunhofer Gesellschaft – and leading universities will join the top researchers of America to better meet the challenges mankind is facing .

Cooperation in research is only possible if the researchers can communicate well and if they understand each other’s cultural background. A crucial role in facing this intercultural challenge is played by institutions like the Institute for European Studies. It was originally founded here at Berkeley as the Institute for German Studies by German seed money – 10 Mio USD over a period of 10 years. The change of its name reflects both the fact that Germany is embedded in the European Union and that funding is now coming from other sources as well.

Another Center of Excellence at Berkeley is the German Department, which is ranked first in the US and also well known in Germany. It offers American students who know how important it is to understand other societies an opportunity to learn German and, thus, to become links between our countries which are crucial not only in the academic field but also – especially – in political and economic relations. Even though English is more and more dominant in the world, German is still the second most important language in Europe, in the internet and in literature. It is the native tongue of around 25 % of the population within the European Union and spoken by many more in the whole of Europe.

As I said, t he focus of my visit to the Bay Area is climate change. Climate change is a global challenge and therefore calls for global solutions. It is impossible for any nation to find effective solutions unilaterally. We can only succeed if we join forces. You in California matter to us, since this part of the country is the driving force behind deepening political awareness of climate change and behind promoting environmental research in the United States.

Germany started a strict policy of environmental protection over 20 years ago and is today a world leader in environmental technology and renewable energy, such as solar power or wind energy. Today, Germany is the world's biggest exporter of wind energy technology and will replace Japan as number one in exporting solar technology by the end of the year. This clearly shows : Germany and California are natural partners, both sharing the same environmental objectives and successfully trying to implement low-carbon policies. I have just met the Governor and I fully support his efforts to put this important topic more prominently on the national agenda. Internationally, we decided to push for an agenda which aims at harmonizing and linking carbon-trading schemes worldwide.

I am impressed by the leading role the University of California is playing in the field of sustainable energy use. The new Energy Bioscience Institute (EBI) will transform Berkeley into a strategic center for research in the area of biofuels and thus into a natural partner for cooperation and exchange with German scientists who have been working on these topics for a long time.

Obviously, the exchange between German Universities and UC Berkeley should not be limited to advanced scientists; there should be a broad network of academic exchanges, starting at the undergraduate level. Therefore, I extend a special welcome to the German students and researchers gathered here today.
As any partnership, this academic exchange, of course, goes both ways , and I am happy to note that a growing number of American students cross the Atlantic and take up studies in Germany. A new and extremely successful approach for fostering contacts between young scientists is the Research Internships in Science and Engineering Program offered by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). This internship program matches undergraduates with German Ph.D. students for a research project. The result is often a long-lasting working relationship (and – not to forget - a personal friendship). There are many more interesting exchange programs sponsored by the DAAD and by the German-American Fulbright Commission.

In this context, our goal for the future is clear: Nothing but bringing together the best students and the best scientists from both our countries will enable us to provide our planet with effective solutions not only in the field of alternative energy and climate change, but in all areas where the future of mankind depends on human ingenuity and solidarity.

I am looking forward to the discussion on how to achieve this goal most effectively.

Thank you for your attention.

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