Germany has spared no efforts in trying to secure a reversal of climate change while seeking global clout over one of the most pressing issues in human history.
A PI0NEERING GERMANY
The international delegates in Bali, Indonesia for the UN climate conference may well remember that the ambition to kick-start the deadlocked negotiations on the reduction of global carbon emissions dates back to the G8 summit in June in Heiligendamm, Germany.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the G8 rotating presidency until the end of the year, clinched a deal with other leaders of the world's most industrialized nations to bring climate negotiations into the framework of the United Nations (UN).
The leaders agreed to "substantially" cut greenhouse gases after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, which Merkel hailed as a "real turning point," even though the United States still refused to sign up to binding goals for fear of hurting economic growth.
The German chancellor, then chair of the European Union (EU), persuaded other EU leaders during an EU summit three months ago to unilaterally cut the 27-bloc's emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.
Meanwhile, the EU pledged to cut the emissions by 30 percent if its international partners would come along in the fight against climate change.
Germany, for its part, vowed to cut its carbon emissions up to 40 percent by 2020 despite bitter complaints from some industrial leaders that the goal seemed somewhat "unrealistic."
Europe has to be a "frontrunner" on the issue of climate change, Merkel said.
ENERGY CONCERNS
Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told Xinhua that apart from the grave concerns over increasingly frequent extreme weather caused by greenhouse emissions, energy fears are one of the major reasons why European nations would take a much bolder position on climate change than other countries.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, the top UN official in charge of climate matters said European nations, especially Germany, have been trying to address their energy concerns through developing renewable energy such as solar or wind energy.
According to a EU report earlier this year, the EU's energy import dependence, largely from Russia, will jump from the current50 percent of total EU energy consumption to 65 percent by 2030.
Europe's energy security was especially hit hard by Russia's oil rows with its neighboring Belarus and Ukraine, which subsequently disrupted oil delivery to some EU countries.
Germany, Europe's biggest economy, heavily reliant on Russia for some 40 percent of its natural gas, has never felt so compelled to change the situation.
According to the German Federation of Renewable Energy (BEE), the use of renewable energies in Germany, including wind power, hydro power, solar energy, bio energy and geothermal reached a record level in 2006.
Share of renewable energies in German electricity consumption grew to 11.6 percent in 2006 and is expected to expand to 25-30 percent by 2020, said the federation.
ECONOMIC DRIVE
Germany's unwavering determination to push for renewable energy and the reduction of greenhouse emissions also comes together with the fact that the country could make big money out of the huge emerging market.
German Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan announced in October that the German government is to spend an additional 1 billion euros (around 1.41 billion U.S. dollars) on climate protection technology research over the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, German industry is prepared to invest twice that amount in the field, Schavan said.
The minister said the funds are part of a new strategy to use climate change as a motor for innovation and boost Germany's industrial competitiveness.
"German industry must assume a pioneering role in climate matters," she said.
According to German government statistics, the growth of renewable energies in recent years has already created some 200,000 jobs in Germany, and German firms already hold 19 percent of global trade volume in products that could be used for environmental protection purposes.
Germany, the world's export leader in manufacturing products, is now widely regarded as the export leader in environmentally-friendly products, said de Boer.
The desire to develop a clean, innovative economy has been more evident in Germany than other countries thanks to its government's strong attitude on the issue of climate change, said de Boer.
Source: Xinhua
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