Sluggish Implementation Plagues German Environmental Policy

Just under one year ago, when Germany's two largest political parties, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD), were forced into a grand coalition, they put their names on an agreement that sent a positive signal to environmental groups.

"The coalition set a series of good goals but has stagnated when it comes to putting them in place," said Johanna Theunissen of the German Association for Nature Conservation (NABU). "Protecting the climate needs to be the primary goal in every political area."

The parties agreed to putting an end to nuclear energy use, reducing greenhouse gasses and creating a single book of environmental law that would apply to all of Germany's 16 states, but each of these topics has been set back, Theunissen said.

NABU, as well as other German environmental groups, are concerned that members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU are apparently anxious to prolong nuclear energy use and that a reform of Germany's federal system has called a common environmental policy into question.

Germany's 16 sets of environmental regulations

Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel has insisted the government will continue the policy of phasing out nuclear power plants put in place by the previous SPD-Green party administration. But environment groups worry about calls from other ruling coalition members to re-examine the topic.

"There are continually new attempts to re-open this issue," Theunissen said. "It needs to be made clear that there is no option other than putting an end to the use of nuclear energy."

NABU had also hoped that a common environmental policy, an issue Merkel herself promoted, would not fall victim to Germany's recent federalism reform and leave the country's 16 states to decide on their own environmental regulations, Theunissen added.

"It is like a starting signal for ecological dumping," she said of the reform that could go into effect in 2010. "When every state can make its own laws and exceptions, it is questionable a common environmental policy is possible."

Economy comes before environment

Matthias Seiche of Friends for the Earth Germany (BUND) criticized the government for putting business interests ahead of environmental protection and cited the example of the number of free European Union emissions trading certificates Gabriel's ministry has awarded.

"After taking office and saying the problem of climate change has been taken too lightly, he put the interests of the coal lobby first by giving power plant operators building new coal plants more than double as many free emission rights as he did for those building modern gas plants," Seiche said.

Both environmental groups also criticized the automobile industry's ability to influence legislation.

"The EU mandated a labeling system for fuel use in cars that the auto industry did not want, but the EU made it mandatory," Seiche said. "What we ended up with was a minimal consensus that in many cases, but not all, requires CO2 rates to be marked."

Balancing interests

NABU's Theunissen added that the government needed to shift its focus from building "prestige objects," such as highways and airports, to more environmentally friendly means of transportation.

"Cuts should not be being made to local public transportation," she said, adding that the government had passed a law to slash mass transport funding by a total of 1.8 billion euros ($2.3 billion) over three years.

The key lies in finding a balance between promoting business and protecting the environment, Theunissen said.

"The only way Germany is going to be able to move forward is when it is clear that both issues need to be developed," she said.