Germany's Transatlantic Climate Bridge

Germany is hoping to heat up U.S.-EU cooperation on climate change with its Transatlantic Climate Bridge, an initiative launched in Berlin back in September that had its American kick-off at the German Residence in Washington on Dec. 16...

Germany is hoping to bridge the U.S.-EU divide on climate change and fast-track energy cooperation at this critical juncture — as a new U.S. president takes office at the beginning of the year, and the world tries to come up with a post-Kyoto international climate agreement at the end of the year.

Hence the Transatlantic Climate Bridge, an initiative launched by the German government in September that had its American kick-off at the German Residence in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 16.

It’s an ambitious proposal that seeks nothing less than an “energy revolution” to confront what it calls the simultaneous challenges of climate change, energy security and economic stability. This campaign to end “our addiction to fossil fuels” through cleaner power would involve both public and private sector support at all levels — from national, state and city governments to businesses, think tanks and NGOs.

“During these difficult times, it is critical that we take the long view on energy and climate change,” said German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, who participated in a panel discussion at the Transatlantic Climate Bridge kick-off along with a number of energy executives and experts, as well as local representatives from Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Although the climate bridge is long on ideas and still somewhat in its infancy, the discussion showed that the initiative is clearly ready to go past broad climate rhetoric and tackle the thorny details. Amid the euphemisms and warnings, the panel addressed a wide range of intricate, highly technical issues from carbon capture and storage to advances in solar, wind, thermal and other alternative energy sources.

It’s one way the climate bridge is trying to go beyond talk and take concrete action. To that end, after the discussion, Ambassador Scharioth, Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant, Jr. and Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Patrick O. Gottschalk signed a joint statement identifying promising areas of cooperation, including emissions trading, community energy planning, green jobs and clean products.

Although it’s just one state, Bryant pointed out that Virginia produces more greenhouse gas emissions than Pakistan or Greece. “If this Transatlantic Climate Bridge can do one thing, it’s to help educate us to structure and implement an emissions trading program on a national level,” he said.

Germany has also partnered with other U.S. states, as well as various EU countries, Australia, New Zealand and Norway under the International Carbon Action Partnership, an initiative started in 2007 to exchange “lessons learned” in implementing carbon markets through mandatory cap-and-trade systems.

Of course, cap and trade and other climate measures also come down to economics, so the climate bridge discussion highlighted a transatlantic business success story. First Solar, a U.S. company in Germany, is the largest manufacturer of thin-film solar cells in the world. (U.S. firms employ about 510,000 people in Germany, while German businesses employ some 740,000 in the U.S.)

Mike Ahearn, chief executive officer of First Solar, called his company’s experience a case study for what is possible within a favorable framework for renewable energies, and said that after seeing a whopping 2,500 percent growth since 2005, First Solar was expecting to double that again in 2009.

That type of growth is key to the so-called green economy movement gaining traction on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s a “buzzword” that is producing real benefits, Scharioth said, pointing out that in Germany, “around a quarter of a million people are now employed in the renewable energy sector, which is attracting millions of dollars of investment, also from overseas.”

Germany’s impressive push into renewables such as wind energy and biomass has also reduced the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 22.4 percent below 1990 levels (critics though contend those cuts were largely achieved by shutting down old coal-fired plants in East Germany).

That means Germany, the world’s sixth-biggest producer of greenhouse emissions, has already met its Kyoto Protocol target — a sign that deep cuts are possible, the ambassador said.

Under the “20-20-20” plan, the European Union is aiming to slash carbon emissions 20 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels — jumping to 30 percent if other international players join in — along with 20 percent increases in energy efficiency and renewable sources.

“And my country has set itself a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020,” Scharioth added. “We know this will be very difficult, but we believe it is achievable.”

Although critics caution against exaggerating the potential of green jobs — and that all the excitement can overshadow the harder sacrifices needed to combat global warming — Scharioth said Germany proves there can be a balance. “Of course, it does not come free. Of course, it requires a change in habits,” he told the national public radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. “But it is possible to do it in such a way that it creates, rather than maybe reduces employment.”

That fits in nicely with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s pledge to boost the economy with a massive green jobs program — a political shift the Transatlantic Climate Bridge hopes to tap into.

Indeed, Scharioth stressed that the United States is integral to the global fight against climate change. When asked by the Diplomatic Pouch if a post-Kyoto agreement could be reached at the international gathering in Copenhagen later this year without the United States on board, the ambassador was clear: “No it can not,” he said, noting that he is optimistic the Obama administration recognizes the overlapping economic and environmental opportunities in the year ahead.

Moreover, he said that if the United States and European Union don’t present a united front and agree on a common climate platform, there will be no way of convincing countries such as China and India to join the effort.

Above all, Scharioth urged action — now — because time is running out.

“Numerous studies have shown that if we let climate change continue unabated, the economic costs will become insurmountable,” he said. “Two years ago, the Stern Review concluded that effective climate protection would cost only 1 percent of global GDP annually if we act now, whereas the cost could reach as much as 20 percent of global GDP by 2050, if we fail to act.

“Today, 6.5 billion people live on this planet. By 2050, there will be around 9 billion, with correspondingly higher demand for energy and resources. The energy choices that we make today will define the world that we leave to our children and grandchildren tomorrow,” he added, warning that “if we don’t succeed in getting a follow-up agreement, our children and grandchildren will all hate us.”

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