From fringe issue to the heart of politics - 25 years of German environmental policy

Editorial by the Federal Environment Minister Dr. Norbert Röttgen

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety was founded a quarter of a century ago under Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl, as a direct reaction to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This disaster spelled the writing on the wall for the age of nuclear power, and brought environmental policy away from the fringes to the very heart of politics. After Chernobyl, all western governments redoubled their efforts in environmental protection at national and, increasingly, at a global level as well. At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, standards for a global climate and environmental policy were set with the adoption of Agenda 21 and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol laid down the first binding greenhouse gas emission reductions for industrialised countries. These agreements, as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity, were key components for a strong international system for a fair balance of interests in global climate and environmental protection and nature conservation. This system remains vital today and we must press ahead with its further development.

German environmental policy is a true success story, and we have accomplished a great deal in environmental and climate protection and nature conservation. Our air and our water bodies are far cleaner today than they were in the 70s and 80s.

We have banned substances which harm the environment, such as chlorofluorocarbons and leaded petrol, have advanced the avoidance and recovery of waste and made considerable progress in nature conservation. The sea eagle and the peregrine falcon are no longer threatened with extinction, the lynx and wolf are returning to Germany. These and many other achievements are due not least to the staff of the Federal Environment Ministry and its subordinate authorities, whose hard work deserves recognition. But our success is also owing to many dedicated people in industry, science and government agencies, and to a broad environmental movement in society which in recent years has gained more and more political weight. It is a great step forward that for a large section of the public, environmental policy has become a key political issue which can play a role in deciding elections.

Today environmental policy is at the heart of a policy-making which takes responsibility for the future. Twenty five years ago, the nuclear accident in Chernobyl 25 marked a turning point; today the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan is another defining moment. It is a stern warning that we must make more rapid and resolute progress towards the age of renewable energies. The fundamental transformation of our energy supply is the key for what can be looked on as an historic shift from our previous resource-intensive, high carbon way of life to the resource- and energy-efficient, carbon-free economic practices and lifestyle of the future. Now, in the year which marks the Federal Environment Ministry's 25th anniversary, we must chart a determined course towards this goal.