Climate Protection Versus Industry

To look on the bright side, the government in Berlin is finally putting the focus on areas where climate protection comes cheap -- and can even prove economical in the long term.

These include improving insulation in private homes, stricter standards for both new buildings and refurbishment projects, as well as a targeted sponsorship of renewable heating energy, which all are measures which can help cut millions of tones of greenhouse gases at the same time as reducing budgets for gas, oil and electricity. The promotion of energy obtained from wind, sun and biomass with the help of cogeneration is designed to secure and stabilize Germany's boom in renewable energy -- laying a blueprint for successful climate protection measures.

Even so, they won't be enough to meet the government's target of cutting carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2020. Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel expects the figure to be closer to 36 percent at most. That extra 4 percent needs to come from somewhere.

A little bit more courage on Berlin's part in standing up to the industrial lobby is all it needs.

Take transport. Introducing a speed limit on freeways could help cut carbon emissions. But the government has little desire to face off with the car lobby. Take energy production. The energy companies are allowed to continue building coal-fired power plants. They might be more efficient than their predecessors, but they will cause serious environmental damage.

The government's climate protection package is ambitious but flawed -- the coalition's excuse is that it has to take too many factors in to consideration.

Nonetheless, Germany has nothing to be ashamed of at the UN climate change conference in Bali. Other countries have failed miserably to come up with similarly concrete plans on curbing carbon emissions in the areas of energy production, households, industry and transport.

Germany is clearly trying to do its bit for the polar bears in the Artic. But their fate is still on thin ice. Other industrialized nations will have to start following Germany's example, and Berlin itself also has a long way to go before it's really pulled out all stops.

Georg Ehring is a reporter with Deutschlandfunk (jp)