German campaigners castigate G8 climate deal

Climate change campaigners and opposition politicians in Germany have panned G8 leaders‘ plan to halve global carbon emissions by 2050, arguing that a much tighter timetable is needed to tackle global warming.

Published: 9 July 2008 17:05 CEST

German campaigners castigate G8 climate deal

Climate change activists think G8 leaders are a joke. Photo:dpa

Achim Steiner, head of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) said the world couldn’t afford to wait until the year 2050 to tackle the pressing problem of climate change.

“The Arctic is melting away as we speak,” Steiner told German radio channel, MDR Info, adding there were increasing signs that climate change was progressing much more rapidly than previously thought.

German environmental group, NABU, also urged setting more ambitious goals to slash greenhouse gas emissions. “The biggest polluters of the world wallowed in nuclear energy fever rather than agreeing on measures needed to fight climate change,” NABU President Olaf Tschimpke said.

Politicians from Germany’s environmentalist Green Party and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) spoke of “pathetic results” at the summit and said the 2050 target is worthless without a tighter timetable to tackle the problem.

Leaders of the world’s eight richest countries who ended a three-day annual summit in Japan on Wednesday agreed on a “shared vision” to halve global CO2 emissions by 2050, an advance on the wording of last year’s G8 summit document, which promised only to “seriously consider” the move. However, G8 leaders are widely believed to have sidestepped several crucial but contentious issues, including the base year for pledges to slash greenhouse gases and specific midterm targets for cuts.

G8 leaders‘ stance on other issues, including spiraling oil and global food prices and aid to Africa, came in for much criticism too. The G8 summit in Japan set a five-year deadline for the major industrial powers to provide $60 billion in aid promised a year ago in Germany to fight disease in Africa. The nations renewed a commitment made three years ago to double aid for Africa to 25 billion dollars by 2010.

G8 leaders also called on nations with sufficient food stocks to release some of their reserves to help others cope with soaring prices and said it was “imperative” to remove export restrictions.

But the promises to fight the food crisis and promote Africa’s development were “much too vague, cowardly and too short-term,” said Ulrich Post from aid group Welthungerhilfe. He added that industrialized countries needed to cut subsidies to their own farmers and end biofuel imports from developing countries. Green politicians Jürgen Trittin and Bärbel Höhn also urged the EU and the US to overhaul their agricultural policies in order to battle global hunger.

Michael Sommer, head of the German Trade Union Association (DGB) described the results of the G8’s Japan summit as a “declaration of bankruptcy” towards the social problems of globalization.

Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.