1.  Article | 08/02/2007

Climate protection: As knowledge increases, efforts stagnate

New scientific insights, increasingly capricious weather as well as growing concern even within economic circles have made the subject of climate protection ascend to the very top of Germany's EU agenda. Michael Bauchmueller about environment and climate protection. » more

Good climate policy bolsters China's economy

While China has indicated a willingness to make compromises at the climate summit in Durban the US continues to block any agreement. Chinese concessions on climate protection could shift the global economic power balance, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: "The strategy is clear: if the price of oil, gas or coal rises it will hit those economies hardest that squander these resources. If on the other hand as many states as possible commit to climate protection this will create a new market: also for wind turbines and energy-efficient machines from China. This sets the scene for an interesting development in the key hours of the conference. China, together with its allies India, Brazil and South Africa, can side with the European Union and most of the developing nations. Because climate policy is always also economic policy this would mean a shift in the balance of power not only in the battle against global warming."

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Environmental Policy, » U.S., » Global, » China

Little hope for climate deal in Mexico

As they agreed to during the climate conference in Copenhagen, more than 50 countries have submitted their national goals to the UN Climate Secretariat regarding the fight against global warming. However, says the left-liberal Süddeutsche Zeitung, the self-made goals reveal a collective failure: "All knowledge about climate protection has been shared. Its effects have already been felt by some countries and will soon be by all others. Technologies that allow growth without the burning of an infinite amount of raw materials are known and proven. ... Should countries like Japan and the EU nations not seize the initiative again, should Barack Obama fail with his climate law, there will also be no agreement in Mexico. But Japan is plagued right now more by the economic crisis than by climate issues, the EU - like the German government - has given up any leading role on climate change, and the prospects of a climate law in the USA have become dimmer. The fact that Mexico, the future host and the only emerging nation, has said nothing up to now about its climate goals speaks volumes."

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Global

The sheikhs and Daimler are changing the car industry

The Arab emirate of Abu Dhabi has bought into the German company Daimler. With their plan of developing an electric car the two are leaving behind a far too well-trodden path, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung. "It is the path of combustion and the exploitation of fossil fuels, and it is high time we abandoned it. ... Nowadays people are fond of calling the crisis a time of fresh opportunity. It provides chances above all to those who have failed to make use of them until now - often against their own better judgement. It is a striking thing that now two enterprises which can no longer rely on their previous business models (Daimler and the Aabar Fund) have chosen to cooperate. The sheikhs fear an abrubt end to their prosperity with the decline of oil production. Daimler must fear that sooner or later it will no longer be able to sell conventional motors. Above and beyond the future of GM, Opel and Chrysler this crisis will shake up the sector, regardless of how much state aid and premiums for used cars are slowing down the rate of change."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Financial Markets, » Germany, » Global, » Middle East

Watered-down EU climate protection targets

The automotive industry does not have to meet its strict climate protection targets in 2012, but only three years later. The Süddeutsche Zeitung criticises the compromise agreed on Monday by the European Parliament and member states. "It may be that at this point no one is more advanced than the EU in matters of environmental protection. A target for the car industry remains a target, even if it only comes into force three years later. But it is already so watered-down that it can hardly serve as a model for the global community. On the contrary, such faintheartedness exposes Europe's hot air for what it is. ... Every state has its own caveats on the way to a climate-friendly Europe. The intersection of these caveats is Europe's lowest common denominator. But it is not the way for the Union to become environmentally friendly."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Europe, » Global

Is the right to strike being questioned?

"The train drivers' strike has yet to begin and already it is considered one of the most bizarre collective action struggles in post-war history. A tiny group of workers is dividing an entire workforce for an astounding 31-percent pay raise. As economists are already predicting that the costs could run into the triple-digit millions of euros, the German government is turning to the negotiating partners. They however are not negotiating at all, because the chance of success is low", writes Michael Bauchmüller commenting on yesterday's ruling by a labor court in Nuremberg outlawing the strike: "What's at stake here are the fundaments of the German economic order. If the freedom of association [the right to form collective industrial organizations and participate in collective action] were no longer a basic right, when would it be applicable? What could workers then ask for, which means could they resort to, how many would have to join forces to be permitted to strike in Germany?"

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Germany