EU President Germany urges action on global warming
Pastor Dale Morgan
EU President Germany urges action on global warming*
10 Feb 2007 10:18:13 GMT
Source: Reuters
MUNICH, Germany, Feb 10 (Reuters) - European Union and Group of Eight
President Germany urged on Saturday some of the world's top politicians
to work together to tackle global warming which it said was one of the
most dramatic threats the world faces.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened her speech to a security
conference with an unusual message for a gathering which in recent years
has focused mainly on issues such as the Middle East conflict and global
terrorism.
"Global warming is one of the most dramatic long term threats we face,"
she told the conference in the southern city of Munich, adding that
climate change demanded urgent action.
"One thing is clear -- this threat is touching everyone, no one can run
away."
Portraying climate change as the war of the future, she said the threat
demanded coordinated action from world nations.
Among those in the audience were Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and U.S. Senator for Arizona John McCain.
The United States, Russia and China have been reluctant to join global
efforts to tackle climate change.
But Merkel has made tackling global warming a priority of Germany's dual
EU and G8 presidencies. She wants to push nations to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, save energy and shift to renewable fuels.
She has also talked of making progress on a framework agreement to
reduce greenhouse gases after the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.
Germany's left-right coalition is, however, itself divided on several
energy policies and the government has resisted some EU initiatives to
cut emissions.