Berlin. “I am convinced that there is no better breeding ground for our ideas and solutions than our open society with open markets and free and fair competition. It is urgent to establish a reliable political framework so that we can avoid harmful factors and reach our desired goals. In my opinion, an environmental policy based on the market economy and the promotion of growth means that the costs of pollution and environmental risks are paid for by those who cause them, and not by the taxpayer. And also that environmentally-friendly production methods bring competition benefits for companies.” – It was with these words that Germany’s head of state, Joachim Gauck, today launched “Environment Week” in the park of Bellevue Palace in Berlin, a project of the German president and the Deutsche Bundestiftung Umwelt (DBU).

How can we create a life fit for nine billion inhabitants of the earth?

At the launch of the fourth such event hosted by the German president and the DBU, featuring around 200 exhibitors and at which around 12,000 visitors are expected today and tomorrow, Gauck asked how we will be able to live well and prosper economically in the future without using large amounts of fossil resources. How can we avoid poisoning the soil, atmosphere and oceans and keep our eco-systems intact? How can we manage to create conditions fit for what are now seven, and later eight or even nine, billion people to live in?

Gauck on Rio: “Action now seems very urgent!

At the end of June, these questions will be the ones tackled at the global summit in Rio. Gauck: “I hope, successfully! Action now seems very urgent – locally, nationally, but above all, globally. Global summits may not change the world overnight, but pledges are made there, joint pledges. Pledges that then provide a yardstick for political action. That is more important than ever.”

Can global warming still be stopped? “All of this is alarming”

Gauck recalled that 20 years have passed since the international community agreed on the principle of sustainability in Rio. Since then, he said, global emissions of carbon dioxide have increased by about a half, and are now higher than at any other time in human history. Gauck pointed out that many forest floors and much arable land have been eroded, and many species of animal and plant are threatened. He said leading climate researchers are warning that global warming, with all its serious consequences, can barely be stopped any more. Gauck: “All of this is alarming.”

Some positive developments in past 20 years

But, Gauck went on, efforts by many people have also brought changes. In the past 20 years, he said, there have been positive developments. Gauck: “Today, we can manufacture much better products with much less material and resources. At the same time, more and more electricity is coming from renewable sources. And even the ozone layer seems to be recovering – slowly, at least – since the international community agreed to ban the substances harming it.”

“All leading industrial nations in Europe and worldwide must be prepared to take this path”

Gauck said that the international community of states had taken another small, but not insignificant step forward at the end of last year in Durban: that of finally setting out on the path towards a global climate agreement from 2020. The president emphasised: ““All leading industrial nations in Europe and worldwide must be prepared to take this path! Germany, as well as the USA, Japan, Canada, China and India. Anyone who delays to gain a short-term advantage will hurt themselves and everyone else in the long term. I am confident that this realization will prevail: sustainability no longer means restrictions or doing without, but responsibility and rationality. Humanity, human life, every form of life can only unfold on this earth in harmony with nature, not in conflict with it. Otherwise it destroys itself. For this reason, the only things that make economic sense in the long term are those that make ecological sense.”

“Nothing is cheaper than the raw material that one saves – nothing is cheaper than the energy that one doesn’t need”

While walking through the park of Bellevue Palace, Gauck said, everyone could see what we can already do now. He pointed out that all these innovations and investments also created new jobs and made our environment and our society fitter for the future and more independent from fossil raw materials. Gauck: “Nothing is cheaper than the raw material that one saves – nothing is cheaper than the energy that one doesn’t need. Recycling, wastewater treatment, propulsion technologies – German companies are world leaders in all of these as well. Our country will profit economically like almost no other if it takes the lead in sustainable progress.”

Weinzierl – Thanks for “inspiration for the trip to Rio”

The chairman of the DBU’s board of trustees, Hubert Weinzierl, thanked the German president for making his official residence as head of state available to the cause of environmental protection and nature conservation for two whole days so that “inspiration for the trip to Rio” could be given. Weinzierl said that “Environment Week” provided a very special platform, away from usual daily business, to talk together and discuss solutions for the tasks confronting us.

Embedding the energy turnaround in a “cultural project of modesty”

He said that the generous offer also, however, entailed the obligation and responsibility to confront the issues involved in creating a form of economy that was fit and viable for the future and to discuss new forms of growth based on “true sustainability”. This, he said, must lead to “a new culture of saving”. Weinzierl: “The energy turnaround must also take place in people’s heads and be embedded in a cultural project of modesty.” He urged that realistic and practical answers had to be found to the great challenges of our times: the finite nature of fossil resources, climate protection, efficient use of resources and circular economy, progressive loss of nature as a threat to our livelihood, and providing a growing world population with food, consumer goods and services. Weinzierl: “Don’t just think technology when thinking about the energy turnaround. We also need a new way of thinking that must be instigated.”

400 experts in almost 100 forums discuss future issues

Today and tomorrow, around 200 companies and institutions will be presenting new technologies, products and projects that promote the sustainable treatment of resources. The presentations in the park of Bellevue Palace are intended to give an overview of the range and variety of activities in environmental technology, research, education and protection and to demonstrate that this is an important issue for the future that is of great significance for Germany. Four hundred experts in almost 100 forums will also discuss issues connected with conservation, sustainability, energy efficiency, protection of resources, climate and nature, and mobility, as well as tourism, leisure and sport, food, building and housing.