The EU is in deep crisis. Many people are dissatisfied with the social
insecurity, their precarious employment, the growing poverty and
inequality. Now the EU discovers a new source of common identity:
saving the climate. Angela Merkel returns as a shining victor from the
EU-Council. In the German media she is celebrated for two resolutions
till 2020: 20 % less carbon-dioxide as well as 20 % renewable sources
within the energy-mix of the community. In Germany well known
solar-power guru Franz Alt triumphs: ?The community of 27 countries
looking for a goal could become the engine for a turnaround in solar
power worldwide. In future the breakthrough for renewable energies and
the hopes for a solar power trend will have a new champion: Angela
Merkel!?

With this European draft now the host would like to push through the
turnaround in climate policies at the G8 in Heiligendamm. For this
reason the G8 Ministers for Environment met during in March 2007 in
Potsdam ? with poor results. The G8 has itself similar problems to
those of the EU. Among the member countries there are huge political
tensions and the asocial results of their neo-liberal policies are
increasingly less well accepted. This shows for example at the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) and at the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
which are both G8 dominated. The WTO-negotiations are not getting
anywhere, since the developing countries are demanding a fair deal and
the industrialised countries can no longer push through their
interests. At the IMF hardly any developing country is asking for
their poisonous loans. Years of on-going criticism by the
anti-globalisation movement, combined with some progressive developing
countries, have put brakes on the power structures of the
industrialised countries. Worldwide the G8 has become a symbol for
destructive neo-liberal politics.

Nevertheless even from such a delegitimised institution like the G8 it
must to be demanded that climate protection must be furthered. In the
current climatic crisis only the suicidal and cynical can refuse to
grab at any straws that could save them. This is an old tradition,
also on the left: as much as the capitalists were hated ? improving
the working conditions were of course demanded from them. It is
legitimate to address even an illegitimate institution for legitimate
demands.

But it can be doubted if effective climate policy is compatible with
the politics of the G8. First of all there is a problem of
credibility. While Merkel is declaring international climate
protection, she conducts old fashioned politics at home and represents
at the EU short-sighted interests for German polluting industries.
German motorways have no speed limit. When the EU tries to set
carbon-dioxide limits for cars the strongest outcry comes from Berlin.
Germany plans 6 new power plants for brown coal and 17 for anthracite.
Air traffic in general, the construction of new airports and motorways
are publicly subsidised. The railways as the most environmental
friendly means of transport are not going to be massively expanded,
but is to fall into the hands of private investors. For years the will
has been lacking to push consequently for energy efficiency while
renewable energies were successfully developed. Most likely the EU
will also miss its internationally binding Kyoto target to reduce the
emission of greenhouse gasses by 8 % in comparison to the year 1990.
Additionally despite international commitments the reductions are
largely not achieved domestically ? but by financing climate
protective measures in the Third World. Without successes at home one
can hardly demand climate protection measures by newly industrialising
and developing countries.

Even greater contradictions exist between the neo-liberal
globalisation and effective climate protection policies. Opening
global markets for capital and goods leads to continuously growing
imbalances and environmental destruction. International climate
politic will not be successful if the globalisation process is not
brought under social and democratic control. For this three examples:

First, the developing and newly industrialising countries are the main
victims of climate change. According to the Polluter Pays Principle
the industrialised countries ought to pay for the immense damages.
Faced with streams of refugees, droughts and floods enormous financing
is required. Therefore instead of demanding of the developing
countries that they pay back their debts of two thousand billion
dollars the debts ought to be cancelled and the development aid
massively increased.

Second, the developing and newly industrialised countries need access
to efficient technologies. For the fast distribution of future
innovations it is crucial that developing and newly industrialised
countries are able to produce these technologies by themselves and
develop them further. For this intellectual property rights have to be
limited, while still favouring innovation, and transfer key
technologies to the developing countries. This is exactly the opposite
to the policies of Angela Merkel, who demands from the G8 a strong
worldwide enforcement of intellectual property rights for patents. As
with drugs and seeds, technologies saving resources are vital for
survival, which as far as possible must to be made available to the
developing and newly industrialised countries free of charge.

Third, climate protection will only be feasible in industrialised
countries if a social turnaround happens. Until 2050 the emissions of
carbon-dioxide have to be decreased by 80% to avoid the worst impacts
of climate change. This reduction target harbours many opportunities
for new jobs and economic development. At the same time many people
have to change their habits. Such a level of change can only be
accepted with social security. But this is incompatible with
neo-liberal employment policies like pensions and unemployment
benefits (Hartz IV) on poverty level. It can hardly be imagined that
the increasing differences between rich and poor can go together with
serious climate protection. The increasing prices for energy will lend
an additional dimension to the social disparity. While some can still
afford air travel and luxury limousines others can hardly effort their
heating bills. It is unlikely that this will be accepted. Climate
protection needs social justice.

Climate policy therefore is much more than just environmental policy.
It raises basic questions about justice, which governments have always
responded to only under strong public pressure. This pressure has to
be build up massively by social movements, non-governmental
organisations and trade unions during the G8 summit in Heiligendamm.