Germany's Merkel Urges US to Support Climate Deal
Date: 31-Aug-07
Country: JAPAN
Author: Sophie Hardach
In a speech during her first visit to Japan as chancellor,
Merkel said both developing and industrialised economies need
to agree on specific targets for the reduction of carbon
dioxide emissions.
"I think America will cooperate -- America must cooperate.
If we can't find a regulatory regime that is accepted by the
USA, then China and India will never agree to reduction
targets," she told participants of a conference organised by
the Nikkei daily.
Many developing countries are worried that strict
environmental regulations will hamper economic growth. They
demand that industrialised nations, the chief polluters, bear
the brunt of emission cuts.
Merkel suggested that as a compromise, developing countries
should be allowed to increase their emissions per capita while
industrialised national cut theirs, until both sides reach the
same level.
Japan is hosting the next G8 summit in Hokkaido in 2008.
Negotiators are aiming to hammer out a new climate pact by
2009, succeeding the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which
Merkel helped draw up as Germany's environment minister in
1997.
Merkel said detailed targets needed to be set soon if the
world wants to slow global warming.
"The question is, how do we distribute (reduction targets)
in the world? I don't believe that it's enough to just agree
that everyone will do their best. I don't believe that would
yield an impressive result," she said.
About 1,000 delegates from 158 nations are currently
meeting in Vienna to discuss global warming. The United States'
chief climate negotiator in Vienna on Wednesday praised
developing countries for their efforts to curb greenhouse
gases, a marked shift from the US' usual call for big
emitters such as China and India to do more to cut carbon
dioxide emissions.