The German Environmental Award of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU Osnabrück) has been conferred for the 17th time. The 500,000-euro prize, the most lucrative environmental award in Europe, is being shared in 2009 by the entrepreneurs Petra Bültmann-Steffin (39, Neuenrade) and Dr. Carsten Bührer (39, Rheinbach), scientist Prof. Bo Barker Jørgensen (63, Bremen) and the honorary chair of the Bund für Umwelt- und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND), Dr. Angelika Zahrnt (65, Neckargemünd). At the award ceremony in the Kongresshalle in Augsburg today, German President Horst Köhler stressed that the prize-winners in 2009 exemplified three key areas that would be decisive over the next few decades: science, technology and economic change. Köhler: “We are on the threshold of a new era dominated by concerns of ecology and sustainability. Today we are laying the foundations for our well being tomorrow. Countries can no longer look after their own fortunes at the cost of others; they all have to bear in mind the equilibrium of the world. I very much hope that the delegations that will meet at the global climate conference in Copenhagen at the start of December are aware of this responsibility.”

All people have the responsibility for preserving the natural foundations of life

Addressing the 1,200 guests, Dr. Köhler said that the German Environmental Award, which he described as being one of the “very important” prizes, highlighted the fact that all people had the responsibility for preserving the natural foundations of life: “And the prize-winners give us renewed confidence that we can meet this challenge.” In the case of Petra Bültmann-Steffin and Dr. Carsten Bührer, he said, they showed what advances in efficiency were possible when technical know-how and entrepreneurial courage joined forces. The pioneering research work by Prof. Jørgensen ensured a better understanding of the influence of the world’s oceans on climate. And Dr. Angelika Zahrnt, he said, showed that “untiring commitment, intellectual brilliance and personal persuasive power can bring the topics of environmental protection and sustainability out of the sphere of experts into the midst of society and to the top of the political agenda”.

"What is at stake is no less than the transformation into a ‘post-carbon society'"

Dr. Köhler emphasised the necessity of finding a new fuel for economies to replace oil and of moving towards renewable energy sources and efficient use of resources. He said this change was “ecologically necessary and offered many economic opportunities”. But, he added, it was not a matter of carrying out fine adjustments and that there was not an endless amount of time available. Köhler: “What is at stake is no less than the transformation into a ‘post-carbon society’. This will have to mean changes and reorientation for all of us.” However, Köhler went on to say, this transformation would lead to a new and better quality of life.

Within a generation there will be a revolution in the material and energy economy

The President quoted experts as saying that energy consumption could be halved by 2050 even with the technology available today: if there were more “passive houses”, which don’t use heating in the old sense; if more electric devices from the top energy-saving category were used, the stand-by mode became a thing of the past and light bulbs produced more light than heat. Dr. Köhler prophesied that, within a generation, not only would there be a revolution in the material and energy economy, but that completely new concepts of mobility would be created in the city and the country.

The price of every item and service must include what it costs

Dr. Köhler continued by saying that a climate-friendly future was possible – and that Germany had all that was needed to bring such a future about, as it had the potential for an ecological industrial revolution. The price of every item and service, he said, must include what it costs the general public, calculated according to the rules of the market economy – clean air, finite resources, waste, noise and traffic jams. In addition, he urged, emissions trading had to be developed, subsidies in environmentally harmful fields had to be reduced, and fiscal policies had to be introduced that provided more ecological incentives.

"An affordable and comprehensive public transport system means more quality of life"

He warned, however, that it was not only technological change that was needed: it was also time to think about whether the idea of just “more and more” could really be the way to secure the future. He said that, although he did not want take the part of “preachers of abstention, enemies of technology and prophets of doom” – and, according to Dr. Köhler, environmental politics has nothing to do with these attitudes – our current lifestyle already required that we do without many things: lively and liveable inner cities that we exchange for shopping centres on what were once green fields; peace and quiet for people living on major traffic routes; valuable time with families and friends lost to commuters while they sit in a traffic jam with thousands of others. Köhler: “If we realised this, we would see that, for example, a comfortable, affordable and comprehensive public transport system means more quality of life, with less noise and destruction of landscapes and less waste of time in an automobile that isn’t mobile at all.”

"Our future lies in our own hands - let us use this chance"

But, Dr. Köhler said encouragingly, this change was already under way: it was “cool” to ride a bike through the city rather than drive an off-road vehicle, and the low-energy house was becoming a new status symbol. He also mentioned the many small and large projects in kindergartens, schools and universities, church congregations, environmental and nature protection groups, unions and businesses – quite a few of them supported by the DBU – that were pushing forward this social change towards a culture of sustainability. Köhler: “They are still a minority. But many a minority has become a majority and made history.” Politicians, he said, must promote this cultural change by providing a kind of education that teaches a sustainable lifestyle, by ensuring more transparency for consumers and by according greater respect to the committed involvement of normal citizens. He noted that the gross national product was not the only measure of a good society, “for the world we live in is larger than just the consumer world, and people are more than just consumers or producers”. And everyone, he added, could work towards creating a newer, better world. Köhler: “To a large extent, indeed to the largest extent, our future lies in our own hands. Let us use this chance – in acceptance of our responsibility towards creation and for the benefit of our children and grandchildren.”

Töpfer: "She is aware of her obligation to the future and has engaged intensively with the issue of Germany`s future sustainability"

In his eulogy to Dr. Angelika Zahrnt, delivered by video, Prof. Klaus Töpfer – a member of the jury, a DBU award-winner and the former director of the United Nations Environment Programme – said she was a “guiding intellectual force and pioneer” who didn’t seek quick applause and who carried out precise analyses to ascertain the right course before implementing it with great persistence. Dr. Zahrnt, he said, was aware of her obligation to the future and had engaged intensively with the issue of Germany’s future sustainability. Prof. Töpfer said that she earned respect wherever she made a contribution with her typical modesty, yet great force of personality. Töpfer: “It is a blessing to know such a woman, to work with her and to know that, in this way, we can make the coldness of a purely economic, political way of thinking more human by introducing elements of reflection and sustainability.” Prof. Töpfer congratulated Dr. Zahrnt on receiving the award “in the great hope that we may still arrive at a real ecological tax reform some day.”

More environmental protection through entrepreneurial courage and innovations 

In his eulogy to award-winners Bültmann-Steffin/Bührer, also delivered by video, Dr. Wolfgang Plischke – jury member and member of the Management Board of Bayer AG – explained that the metal-processing industry needed enormous amounts of electricity, around three per cent of global consumption. He described how these two entrepreneurs had developed a special induction heater based on high-temperature superconductors that could be used to save half of this energy – in Germany, he said, that would mean the equivalent of the energy production from four coal-fired power stations. He praised the entrepreneurial courage of Bültmann-Steffin/Bührer, saying they had shown “that small and medium-sized business in particular could make a contribution to climate and environment protection with innovations.”

Jørgensen`s research as a proves that the discussion on global warming must be extended

And in his video eulogy, Prof. Michael Schmidt, a jury member who holds a chair at the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) in Cottbus, described the findings of Professor Jørgensen as being “of great importance for climate research”. He explained how the oceans played a major role in the global carbon cycle as a depression that provided a storage place for carbon, with carbon being deposited on the ocean floor as methane. As global warming increased, he said, not only did the atmosphere become warmer, but also stretches of water near the coast or shallow waters, such as the Baltic. Prof. Schmidt said Jørgensen’s research showed that geo-chemical and microbial processes led to a release of the methane on the sea floor, which could thus rise up into the atmosphere. Schmidt: “The research results show clearly that we have to extend the discussion of climate. Indirect effects of global warming, such as the possible release of methane from the ocean floor, have so far not been taken into consideration.”

Problems of poverty and environmental destruction have to be solved at the same time

In an interview with the moderator, Stefan Schulze-Hausmann, Angelika Zahrnt emphasised that the problems of poverty and environmental destruction could be solved only with a simultaneous approach. According to Zahrnt, the issue of sustainability is in fact a problem to do with justice, but that “we have not advanced fast enough” on the path to sustainability. What was necessary, she said, was a change of course, because constant growth could not expected to be the solution to all problems. She said an ecological tax reform remained vital and that she hoped it would be included in the current coalition negotiations in Germany.

Not only ecological but economic advantages as well

Bültmann-Steffin/Bührer, at 39 the youngest award-winners, highlighted the fact that the uncomplicated support from the DBU had helped them in their work. They also pointed out, however, that their innovation brought not only ecological advantages, but economic advantages as well, as it resulted in increased productivity. They said it was now a matter of developing the business potential of the induction heaters and perhaps even of finding new possibilities for their use, which were thought to be likely in other fields such as generator technology or water power.

Understanding the great complexity of processes at work in the sea

And Prof. Jørgensen stressed the necessity of understanding the great complexity of the processes at work in the sea, which he said had long been underestimated, in order to allow realistic prognoses regarding climate protection and to be able to take political decisions based on these.