Germany

Climate change and Germany Germany emitted 3.3% of worldwide CO 2 in 2004 It is the top CO 2 producer in Europe CO 2 emissions decreased by 21% since 1990 German companies create 1/3 of worldwide windmills and solar farms and ½ of the wind turbines

Climate change and Germany: Coal Germany is heavily dependant on coal It provides electricity, jobs and investment It is the world leader in coal production Therefore, new coal plants are hard to resist. This is the main cause of the massive Greenhouse gas emissions

Predicted Effects The German economy is predicted to lose billions of euros in the next decades due to climate change The temperatures will, if the rise is not stopped, rise by 2-4 degrees in the 21 st century This would cause effects such as floods, droughts, and even tornadoes.

Steps already taken for reduction of CO 2 emission Development of an energy plant running on coal which does not produce CO 2 In 2006, 1.5 billion dollars were granted to make houses more energy-efficient 265,000 houses were refurbished Taxes on not eco-friendly car motors were put in place in July

Further targets set The government goal is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 40% until 2020 They want to continue projection of growth of usage of natural resources

Germany, COP15 and other countries The minister, Angela Merkel, will represent Germany at the Copenhagen Conference Germany has signed a treaty with Denmark, Sweden, the UK, France and Finland which reaffirms their joint commitment