The year 2007 was the year of climate euphoria. Or, depending on your point of view, climate change phobia. Chronologically, the events can be represented through the three phases in which the interim reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were released to the public, through the debate in spring concerning the emission levels of motor vehicle fleets, through the Live Earth concert in July and now, at the end of the year, through the Climate Conference in Bali, which was to initiate the successor to the Kyoto Protocol. The climate issue, discussed in expert circles at the UNO, was brought into the public consciousness by numerous celebrities, above all by Leonardo di Caprio, who followed Al Gore's lead and produced a documentary on the topic. UN Climate Change Conference in BaliWhat brought about this activism on so many levels? It will be interesting to see if the attention given to the topic in the year 2007 has actually lead to a reduction in CO 2 emissions. There will soon be some sort of statistics in relation to this. With regard to all this upheaval, my primary concern was to differentiate between real reductions, and commercial dealings with emissions. A couple of mass events designed to save the global climate – see the Live Earth concert – were coupled with the balancing effect of the climate-killing gases which were produced, for example through "carbon offsetting" programs. Here, it was never about the avoidance of emissions. Why is this question of effective reduction so decisive? In my opinion, only a change in the behaviour of consumers will have a sustainable effect on the climate. Campaigns such as "Lights out. For our climate", some weeks ago, have only the potential of a reflexive effect on customers: How much energy am I actually wasting? Bali was the rather hazy conclusion to the year for climate activists. Where citizens are helpless against the ignorance of their governments, they are simultaneously consumers, customers with a lot of pull. If consumers change their habits, choice and products will also change.
This article was primarily published at Cicero Online.

Invited by EnBW Al Gore gave his presentation about inconvenient truths on Tuesday night in Berlin. He emphasized ethical, moral and spiritual issues on one side and political issues on the other, and how we will have to confront and combat climate change.Here is a short version of his intro:If you want the full impact of his intro, watch the long uncut version in two parts:
Part I
Part II
Foto: Paramount

During our community day during the Frankfurt Motor Show I talked to some of our visiting pioneers about their impressions from the fair, sustainability and green car engineering.

Frank Hessler
Martin Fieber
Andreas Freijs

Matthias Wissmann is the President of the Association of the German Automobile Industry. Shortly before the Frankfurt Motor Show starts he spoke with Club of Pioneers about the new trend of German customers to go for eco-friendly cars. Wissmann asks politicians to lower taxes on cars carrying sustainable technologies.

Matthias Wissmann
Is there a trend toward climate-compatible automobiles in Germany?In the first six months of 2007 Germans purchased 27 percent more vehicles with a CO2 level of less than 130 grams per kilometer from German manufacturers. In contrast importers of foreign cars recorded a decrease of almost two percent. Customers are obviously putting more trust in the environmental competence of German car producers.How do German automobile manufacturers rank in an international comparison?In the competitive vying for environmental competence we don’t have to hide ourselves. Because of Clean Diesel we are in the first rank when it comes to climate-compatible and eco-friendly engines. That’s why the Japanese competitors envy us. Due to hybrid engines we are catching up, and when the fuel cell has been fully developed by 2020, then we’ll have many new possibilities.Is that a fancied development, or can you underline this statement empirically?The numbers speak a clear language: German automobile producers have 47 percent of the market in Western Europe, a 40 percent increment of growth in the first half-year in China, and three percent growth in the USA. The German automotive industry will set a new export record in 2007. We are re-inventing the car. Since German car buyers have a new environmental awareness and are choosing climate-compatible cars, isn’t it about time to reward them by lowering taxes?Tax incentives could definitely advance this development. We need a motor vehicle tax that is based on CO2 emissions as quickly as possible. That would contribute to climate protection and would increase the incentive to purchase a new eco-friendly car. Every gram of CO2 should be taxed; in doing so we could get old high-pollution vehicles off the road. In the future, buyers of low-emission cars should be exempted from motor vehicle taxes for several years. That would be an major incentive. Climate protection has to be profitable for the motorist.

Interview: Alex Goerlach