The 2007 G-8 Summit and Merkel's Environmental Dance

by Sophia Barkat

This July 6-8, 2007 Germany is hosting G-8 Summit in Heiligendamm, to be attended also by five developing nations. Germany’s Federal Government recently announced that its main agenda for the meetings are:

1. Investments, innovations and sustainability and

2. Africa – Good governance, lasting investments, peace and security (http://www.g-8.de/).

Within the Investments, innovations and sustainability agenda are covered, amongst other things:

• the need to strengthen the protection of innovations against product and trademark piracy.

• Challenges posed by the need for sustainable use of resources. Key importance will be attributed to the subject of energy efficiency. Global efforts to prevent climate change and the Kyoto Process will play an important role.

In accordance with the plans, on Feb. 14, 2007, German Chancellor Merkel announced that global warming was a priority in Germany’s G-8 agenda. Merkel stated that she wants to make sure that global warming doesn’t exceed two degrees Celsius [per year], without compromising a steady supply of energy for Germany. (See http://www.g-8.de/). “I want to highlight three elements: Firstly, a global and ambitious increase in energy efficiency. Secondly, renewable energies and CO2-free power plants. Thirdly, efficient economic incentives through a global carbon market,” Merkel said.

Merkel’s plans stem from the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conference proceedings which made clear that Europe and North America would be the first to be affected by Greenland’s melting ice. On Feb. 5^th, 2007, the IPCC released this statement: “Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values determined from ice cores spanning many thousands of years (see Figure SPM-1). The global increases in carbon dioxide concentration are due primarily to fossil fuel use and land-use change, while those of methane and nitrous oxide are primarily due to agriculture, {2.3, 6.4, 7.3.}” The article warns: “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level (see Figure SPM-3). {3.2, 4.2, 5.5} (See http://ipccwg1.ucar.edu/).

Is the IPCC unearthing anything new?  No. According to the organization “the IPCC does not carry out research nor does it monitor climate related data or other relevant parameters. It bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature,” (See http://www.ipcc.ch/). So, the report isn’t giving you anything you wouldn’t find in Al Gore’s movie: “An Inconvenient Truth.” In fact, the findings have been public for a while. The conference is not the first to establish global warming, either. What then is the IPCC’s contribution? Is it political? Who does it help? And why is Merkel so excited?

Other Things on the Table

While Germany itself follows high standards on clean energy consumption, it has done little and can do little to enforce clean energy standards on nations without the consent of the EU. While the EU has pushed for more clean energy in paper, it has done little to enforce it in trade negotiations. In the 2005 EU-China Summit, for e.g., it was very hesitant to push for anything more than the Kyoto Protocol. (http://www.juryfury.com/).

It is not likely that EU members in the upcoming G-8 Summit will have anything strong to say to the U.S. counterparts, either. If anything, it seems that the IPCC report facilitates a conversation on broader environmental matters, and because Germany has high standards on clean energy consumption who else but Germany to suggest that the G-8 talk “environmental politics”.

In fact, that “protection of innovations” is on the agenda implies that Germany really wants to negotiate on other kinds of battles, like that of patents on food, medicine, and technology. The Federal Government of Germany has stated that biodiversity is of concern in the July talks (http://www.bmu.de/.

The growing wars between the various G-8 nations on matters of genetically modified (GM) foods also suggest this is so. It’s not that Germany is against genetically modified foods, and that the US is the only G-8 member for it. Germany routinely allows field-tests of genetically modified crops on its soil. Recently it allowed field tests for GM potatoes, as did the UK, and Sweden. (http://www.seedquest.com/). And German universities, amongst other European Union universities are leading the way on many genetically modified “inventions”, often collaborating with life science corporations such as Monsanto and Syngenta, which manufacture GM crops.

On the other hand, Germany is bound by the European Union’s strict stance on genetically modified organisms. In 1999 the EU’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety established a four-year banned on GM crops. But, in 2002, 15 nations were allowed to test GM crops and commercially produce or import such crops if the crops met the EU’s environmental safety requirements (http://en.wikipedia.org/).

So, where exactly is Germany on the biodiversity issue? Is this merely an elbow wrestling contest to get more commercial research funds channeled to Germany? Only time will tell.

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