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Viewing cable 07BERLIN2177, COMPREHENSIVE GERMAN CLIMATE CHANGE PROPOSAL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07BERLIN2177 2007-12-07 14:55 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Berlin
VZCZCXRO6527
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHRL #2177/01 3411455
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071455Z DEC 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9980
INFO RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0112
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 002177 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SENV KGHG ENRG GM
SUBJECT: COMPREHENSIVE GERMAN CLIMATE CHANGE PROPOSAL 
BEFORE PARLIAMENT 
 
REF: BERLIN 2152 
 
BERLIN 00002177  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  The coalition government presented a 
series of far-reaching and ambitious environmental 
legislative measures to the German Parliament for 
consideration on December 5 (Reftel). The 14 points of this 
proposal are not new, but rather stem  directly from the 
29-point "Meseberg Plan", which was approved by the German 
Cabinet in August 2007. Nonetheless, the media has seized 
upon Berlin's determination to cut greenhouse gas emissions 
by 40%. The German government planned the announcement of 
this draft legislation to provide momentum for the current 
UNFCCC Conference in Bali. Our German interlocutors generally 
believe that the climate change goals embodied in these 
proposals are achievable.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) The current proposals were first elaborated in the 
summer of 2007.  On August 23, Minister Gabriel and Economic 
Minister Michael Glos jointly presented their 47-page climate 
proposal (available from Embassy Berlin upon request) to the 
German Cabinet for a decision during the Christan 
Democratic/Social Democratic coalition government's mid-term 
summer working retreat.  On September 24, the German Economic 
Ministry published a three-page summary report in English 
(available from Embassy Berlin upon request), in which they 
noted that the draft legislative package would be introduced 
to the parliament before the climate change conference in 
Bali. The draft legislation introduced on December 5th covers 
the first 14 points of the so-called Meseberg Plan. The 
government plans to present the draft legislation for the 
other 15 points to the parliament in May 2008. 
 
3. (SBU) Although the coalition government is in agreement on 
these measures, they have not yet become law. The timing of 
Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel's proposal was likely 
aimed at showing that the Germans are taking something of 
significance to the UNFCCC conference in Bali.  Had this 
announcement not fallen during the Bali conference, this 
story may not have been picked up by international media 
outlets -- which have tended to overstate the novelty of the 
proposals. 
 
4. (SBU) Our German interlocutors generally believe that the 
climate change goals embodied in these proposals are 
achievable.  However, it is too early to make a definitive 
assessment.  To date, Germany has reduced its greenhouse gas 
emissions nearly 19% from 1990 levels.  It is accordingly 
well on its way to meeting its 21% Kyoto target for the 
2008-2012 period.  However, according to Dr. Heidemarie 
Apel-Schmelter, the senior staffer for the SPD environmental 
caucus working group, nearly 9% of this drop came from the 
dismantling of dirty industries in the former East Germany 
(still, this was a very costly measure).  After 
reunification, the German government worked to clean up 
highly polluting factories there.  Additionally, on November 
28th, Environment Minister Gabriel admitted that, if Germany 
has a particularly tough winter, it might not achieve the 21% 
target by the beginning of 2008. 
 
6. (SBU) The four most important points of the Meseberg Plan 
require that Germany: 
 
-- expand its share of renewable energy; 
 
-- substantively expand the environmentally friendly and 
particularly efficient generation of electricity and heat in 
combined heat and power plants (CHP); 
 
-- adopt more stringent requirements for energy efficiency in 
buildings; 
 
-- work to develop a stable legal framework for carbon 
capture and storage at the European level. 
 
7. (SBU) The 14 specific points of the legislative proposal 
include the following areas: 
 
-- increase the share of CHP in electricity generation by 
2020 to 25 percent 
 
-- smart metering 
 
-- raise energy requirements for buildings an average of 30 
percent in 2009 and another 30 percent for 2012 
 
-- increase the renewable energy share of heat consumption to 
14 percent by 2020 
 
BERLIN 00002177  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
 
-- make federal buildings more energy efficient 
 
-- promote electricity generation from biomass and wind; 
increase the share of renewables in electricity generation to 
30 percent by 2020 
 
-- improve clean coal technology / power station technology 
 
-- improve the feed-in of bio-gas to natural gas grids 
 
-- expand the biofuels market by 20% in 2020 
 
-- sustainability and biomass 
 
-- increase the use of bioethanol 
 
-- refine the processing of plant oils 
 
-- tax vehicles based on carbon dioxide emissions as of May 
2008 
 
-- reduce emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases. 
TIMKEN JR