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ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN GERMANY

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• International Cooperation
• Trade
• Changing Consumption Patterns
• Financing
• Technology
• Industry
• Transport
• Sustainable Tourism

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies    

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is responsible for bilateral and multilateral development cooperation. In addition to the BMZ, several other Federal Ministries are involved in decision making, including the Foreign Office and the Ministries of Economics and Finance.

The Federal Government is in charge of foreign relations. But the Länder also cooperate with their counterparts in other countries as well as local governments with foreign local governments.

Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations 

Development cooperation policy is part of the German Government’s worldwide policy to further peace and stability. There are basic principles and a number of internal regulations and directives in effect.

Germany is a member state of the European Union (EU) and a member of the Word Trade Organization (WTO). On the European level Germany’s participation in the EU’s internal "Single Market" – based on the principle of non-discrimination – is a contribution to eliminating unjustified obstacles to the free movement of goods and services and for investment. On the multilateral level, Germany is involved in the external dimension of the Single Market characterized through various trade agreements between the EU and third countries and other instruments such as the General System of Preference (GSP).

Germany also promotes international trade on the basis of the principles of most-favored-nation treatment and non-discrimination within the institutional framework of the WTO. Germany and the EU are committed to the idea of creating a solid set of rules for global free trade and to diminishing trade barriers by means of multilateral trade negotiations with the WTO. Therefore the EU as well as Germany support a new WTO round of multilateral trade negotiations.

With its Public-Private Partnership Programme (PPP) the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) supports the investment of firms/enterprises in developing countries and transition economies , which combine private sector interests and development policy goals. However, support activities do not start by looking at the companies' needs for support, but by assessing their contribution towards sustainable development. A wide range of instruments are available to further sustainable development goals through PPP.

In addition to that, Environment Area Managers have been installed in the German Chambers of Commerce in various developing countries. Their task is to promote the transfer of environmental technology as a contribution to safeguarding the environment which is the basis for a sustainable development.

Market access to Germany is governed by the common European customs legislation. According to this legislation, for most developing countries preferential market access is foreseen either under the Lome Convention for ACP Countries or under the General System of Preferences (GSP).

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans  

The Public-Private Partnership programme contributes to the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and know-how to developing countries, especially in the fields of renewable energies and waste disposal. 

In recent years, Germany has proposed that environmental protection targets be given greater consideration with regard to international trade and investment issues. It has taken numerous initiatives to integrate ecological standards in the trade system. Of particular significance are multilateral environmental agreements, eco-labeling, integration of the precautionary principle in WTO regulations, and the role of foreign direct investment in sustainable development. Thanks to a German initiative, the G8 meeting of environment ministers (Schwerin, 1999) explicitly called for environmental aspects to be integrated into WTO regulations. While the stage for trade and environment discussions has been prepared, progress towards concrete results is still needed.

Germany is a large exporter of environmental technology and chemical products. In 1996, Germany supplied 17.5 % of the world market for environmental technology. It will soon ratify the PIC Convention (Rotterdam, 1998) and prohibit the export of equipment which can be used for chemical warfare. A German company which had exported problematic equipment was expelled from the Federation of Chemical Industries (VCI).

The Federal Government has created an interministerial working group to review the political suitability of proposed exports from Germany (30 000 export proposals per year). Proposals are being made to request an EIA for certain projects likely to damage the environment, and to prohibit granting of export credits to certain projects because of their potential environmental effects. 

See also under Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement  

The discussions and decisions of local authorities in Germany are evidence of the growing interest in development cooperation that also exists on the level of municipalities, communities and rural districts. This is reflected for instance, in the growing number of twinning arrangements. Typical areas of local authority cooperation are education, schools, health, welfare, utilities, and cultural exchange. They are integrated in a variety of ways in government development cooperation activities organized on federal level.

Following the Rio Conference, German NGOs active in the sphere of environment and development began intensive cooperation efforts under the aegis of the "Environment and Development Forum" (Forum Umwelt und Entwicklung), which was founded as an informal group in 1992. The Forum’s work focuses on the program areas outlined in Agenda 21 and critical monitoring of activities conducted on government level. Additionally, representatives of German NGOs were included in the German delegation to the CSD meetings. When it comes to decision making within the Federal Government, there are a number of standing or ad hoc advisory bodies in place composed of representatives of civil society. There is an ongoing open dialogue with non-governmental organizations.

Churches, political foundations and a great number of other NGOs receive funding from the Federal budget to co-finance their own development activities designed and implemented in cooperation with their development partners from civil society all over the world. German NGOs and the Federal Government cooperate also towards awareness building for development cooperation and sustainable development amongst Germany’s population.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) promotes the activities of the private sector in developing countries through Public-Private Partnerships.

With its PPP strategy, the BMZ intends to strengthen the concerted action of official development cooperation and private business activity. The purpose is to cover special risks and/or costs which otherwise would prevent the realization of a project that makes sense in development policy terms and that is economically viable. For one thing, this form of cooperation enhances the effectiveness of development cooperation and, for another, it fosters the participating companies' involvement in the development process of the countries. However, support activities do not start by looking at the companies' need for support, but by assessing their contribution towards social and economic development, as well as environmental aspects in the partner country.

These PPP activities may be carried out either by bilateral implementing agencies of German development cooperation or by the private company itself. There is a vast set of combinations of public and private activities in all sectors conceivable, such as agriculture, health, infrastructure etc. Approaches include:

• vocational training and managerial personnel;

• certifying local products or production methods;

• model solutions for (industrial) environmental protection;

• privatizing former state industries and service institutions; and

• financing specific components of private sector projects that make a special contribution to the country's development.

For all new development projects BMZ will study the private sector interests and the possibility of turning development problems into business opportunities. In addition to the PPP activities carried out under bilateral official agreements with individual developing countries, in early 1999, BMZ set up a separate fund for activities that cannot be operated within the framework of the regular procedures because of a short-term nature, small scale, or because they cover more than one country. While in the regular cooperation programme companies from any country can be partners, in this specific programme only German enterprises that are preparing, or engaged in, investments, joint ventures, export or import relations, or other business relations with one or several enterprises in a developing country and thus contributing to our partner country's development are eligible.

Programmes and Projects

Germany is the third largest shareholder of the World Bank and holds shares of IFC, MIGA and Regional Banks. Germany is one of the largest contributor to IDA and other concessional lending facilities. Germany supports all major UN Institutions and Programmes in the field of development cooperation (UNDP, FAO IFAD, WFP, UNFPA, UNIFEM, UNIDO etc.) as well as GEF (12 % share) and the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol (11,2 % share).

Bilateral development cooperation is a priority instrument of the Federal Government. Over the years, Germany’s development cooperation programme has covered more than 118 developing countries on all continents. All programmes, projects and activities provided (and continue to provide) financial resources for sustainable development. The basis of cooperation and an essential planning instrument are country concepts. They determine the priorities of bilateral cooperation against the background of the specific country’s core problems and potential. In future, Germany intends to concentrate its bilateral activities on a limited number of some 70 countries in order to increase the significance and effectiveness of its cooperation programme.

By the end of 2000, bilateral developing countries debt totaling DM 13 billion had been cancelled by the German government.

In the framework of the enhanced HIPC-Initiative, Germany will cancel a further DM 10 billion in ODA loans and commercial credits. Germany also contributes to the HIPC Trust fund (DM 150 million bilateral funding + 25% of the EU contribution of Euro 1.05 billion).

In addition, debt for development swaps (nature, poverty reduction, education) have been committed to 14 countries totaling about DM 1.1 billion.

Of the multilateral and bilateral cooperation programmes mentioned above, the approximate % allocation of funds by areas covered are:

• Natural resource protection, 16, 43 %
• Poverty eradication, 19,64 %
• Capacity building, and
• Policy formulation, planning, governance. 8,98 %

The above data refer only to bilateral programmes. Statistical information about the sectoral allocation of multilateral programmes is not available.

Capacity building, policy formulation, planning and governance are classified under identical DAC purpose codes . Therefore they cannot be listed separately.

Germany’s development cooperation does contribute to all of the a.m. areas/themes with country tailored programmes and projects. It would be extremely difficult to single out specific assistance projects.

Under its development cooperation program, Germany is going to introduce a program in 2001 of up to DM 12 million to foster sustainable trade with products adhering to high ecological and social standards. Moreover, there are more than 30 PPP projects with a volume of more than DM 10 million to foster sustainable trade.

The Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) started a dialogue process to improve the integration of environmental aspects into foreign direct investment (FDI) It has installed a multi-stakeholder working group to develop operational guidelines. The working group consists representatives of government, companies, business associations and environment and development organisations. Based on existing codes of conduct - like OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN-Initiative Global Compact - more concrete recommendations for the application of best practice measures when carrying out foreign direct investment shall be elaborated. The result of this process shall be fed into the preparations of the WSSD and be presented in Johannesburg.

Status

Challenges

Germany’s development administration conducts regular policy consultations and periodic government negotiations with partners from both governments and civil society. Amongst others, the policy principles and recommendations drawn up by the DAC of OECD are a common frame of reference in the dialogue. Major challenges derive from these principles and recommendations.

The full integration of environmentally sound policies, programmes and projects into activities of governments and civil society at large and the full adherence to the Rio principles.

To come to common conclusions on what needs to be done to promote sustainable development – and mobilizing public support for the necessary changes, including values and productions and consumption patterns.

Trade policy is a competence of the EU. The challenge to eliminate trade barriers is an important task for the European Commission. To meet this challenge the European Commission has established a database to analyse and monitor trade barriers notified to the Commission by European business. The process of solving trade problems and of removing trade barriers will be pursued in accordance with international trade law.

Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising 

Instruments and procedures developed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation (BMZ) in the field of public information/development education:

The most important messages of BMZ’s development education work are:

- Development policy is a subject of importance. It is important because it touches upon the personal life of each person and does not constitute a problem of only remote interest.

- International links between the industrialised and the developing countries are quite numerous and still growing. Thus, development policy is a political field of increasing importance. (Example: reduction of protectionism in the industrialised countries could open up development opportunities and could lead to additional income for countries in the South and the East, which may, for instance, be used for the protection of the environment. Preserving the environment benefits industrialised and developing countries alike. )

- Economic differentiation is on the increase worldwide. However, the same standards, rules and viewpoints cannot be used in all countries. One can witness remarkable success side by side with tremendous problems. A very important learning target is to better point out the successes of development policy and to encourage people to lend their support and not turn away disappointed in the case of failure.

- The development problems and the development process in the South must not be simplified to one single cause or one mix of measures. The spectrum of development contributions must be seen as holistically as possible. The implicit learning goal is: Fighting against the widespread monocausal way of thinking of many people that development co-operation alone can overcome poverty and underdevelopment in developing countries. In the face of continuing and sometimes growing destitution in many countries, any thinking along such lines destroys the interest in development policy and the willingness to get involved.

- Development co-operation is a rather demanding task. It works and it is beneficial. It is becoming more and more structured and professionalized. However, one must expect a certain number of bottlenecks and failures. They only apply to a minority of cases and in their concrete number vary in size from one country and sector to the other.

- Each citizen can get actively involved in a number of ways in development policy and cooperation. He/she is not only the object of development cooperation information work. He/she is a subject and called upon to participate with his/her contribution.

The German Federal Government funds the German Foundation for International Development (DSE) and the Carl-Duisberg-Gesellschaft (CDG), which offer initial and advanced training to specialists and executive personnel from developing countries. Sustainable development is part of the overall training policy of these organizations and objective of special training courses, i.e. to promote low-waste technologies, upgrade the quality and implementation of environment-related planning processes and strengthen the environmental management skills of public administration authorities.

In addition, the DSE offers training courses to German experts preparing for an assignment abroad. The German Development Service (DED) maintains its own training unit for the preparation and in-country orientation of volunteers. The curricula used in these courses are in line with major elements of Agenda 21.

Along with UNEP and UNESCO, Germany organizes courses for experts at the Centre for International Postgraduate Studies of Environment Management in Dresden.

Among the experts are representatives of business associations and companies. UBA has its own professional networks, depending on the departments.

According to priorities and shortcomings identified by Germany’s development cooperation partners, capacity building in all areas mentioned is needed. Priorities shift from country to country.

Information 

Information is provided through a number of channels and the full range of media available to the public in an open, democratic society.

There are a number of possibilities to have access to information, including the following websites of the Federal Government’s Ministries and Agencies involved in cooperation for development:

- http://www.bundesregierung.de

- http://www.bmz.de

- http://www.bmu.de

- http://www.bmwi.de

- http://www.bml.de

- http://www.bfn.de

- http://www.bmbf.de

There are numerous publications (including bulletins, newsletters, brochures, video tapes) and other media available from public (federal, state, local) and a variety of private sources.

Research and Technologies

The transfer of technical know-how is a major objective in Germany’s bilateral development cooperation activities. There are numerous programmes and projects in which the transfer of know-how takes place on an almost daily basis. The focus is clearly on the transfer of appropriate technologies which are at the same time environmentally sound. Technology transfer and capacity building to adopt, absorb and disseminate technologies, as well as to generate technical knowledge and innovations are given equal importance. The Profitable Environmental Management Project (PREMA) is a particularly interesting programme aiming at implementing measures to reduce costs of production, improve the environmental performance and enhance the organisational capabilities of micro, small and medium-sized companies in developing countries in order to further sustainable development.

Public-Private Partnerships are another recently strengthened instrument for the dissemination of technology and technological know-how in close cooperation with the private sector.  See under Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations.

In the field of global environment protection, Germany pursues a very comprehensive approach to further the implementation of the global environmental conventions through capacity building activities and through a number of ‘enabling activities’. Some examples: With German financial support and in cooperation with Germany’s main organisation for technical cooperation – GTZ - , country profiles on climate change have been established by local institutions in developing countries, in order to ensure that the quality of the studies complies with internationally required standards and that local experts are further trained. In order to facilitate the change to ozone-friendly technologies under the Montreal Protocol in A 5 Countries, by the end of 2000 GTZ was in the process of implementing more than 70 bilateral projects, all of which have a large technology transfer component. Since 1992, Germany’s Tropical Ecology Support Programme (TöB) has funded more than 140 bilateral projects in some 40 developing countries in order to contribute to the implementation of the CBD by building local capacity. Germany is lending intensive support to the implementation of the CCD, particularly in the field of technology transfer and capacity building, as it believes that the CCD is in the process of becoming an important strategic framework for sustainable development in the countries affected by desertification.

It is the role of the government to set framework conditions for the promotion of EST and to develop specifically designed schemes for the promotion of technology dissemination and exchange through international cooperation.

Financing   

The proportion of Germany’s GNP spent on Official Development Assistance was 0.26 % in 1999. The amount of ODA in 1999 rose by 2.4 % compared to 1998, due to specific efforts made to secure adequate funding for development financing. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s budget for 2001 is being increased by 4.6 % compared to 2000. The additional funds will be used to increase support for civil society, for the use of renewable energies, the fight against AIDS and to strengthen the efforts to poverty eradication.

Cooperation  

Germany has ratified all relevant international conventions and treaties. Concerning climate, Germany ratified the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 9 December 1993 and implemented the Convention by Statute of 13 September 1993. The UNFCCC´s 1997 Kyoto Protocol was signed on 29 April 1998, its ratification with the EU is subject to the successful outcome of CoP 6 in early summer 2001.

The EU has concluded numerous trade agreements with third countries covering almost every state or trading bloc in the world. Some of these agreements are aimed at promoting sustainable development by the introduction of suitable mechanisms like a preferential system or the stabilisation of export revenues. These agreements also facilitate trade relations between European business and third countries. Hence, they increase trade opportunities and may contribute substantially to sustainable development.

Germany has been a member of the CSD from the beginning. The Federal Government fully subscribes to the goal of sustainable development and is committed to its implementation.

In the field of development cooperation, Germany is helping to create framework conditions on all levels conducive to the implementation of the Rio commitments, including Agenda 21. The following mutually reinforcing approaches are used:

promoting structural reforms in the partner countries as a prerequisite for a development path that in the long run is both viable and environmentally sound

combating poverty as a major cause of unsustainable forms of production and ways of life in partner countries, giving priority to tackling the structural causes of poverty

promoting education as a major contribution to developing personal skills so that independent problem-solving efforts can unfold in the social, economic and political sphere

integrating the environmental dimension into all fields of action stemming from both development cooperation and the policies of the partner countries themselves

promoting specific programmes and projects for environmental protection and resource conservation in partner countries (e.g. for safeguarding tropical forests or combating desertification), and

combating global environmental dangers by contributing to international or regional efforts (e.g. to protect the climate, the ozone layer, biodiversity, the oceans, etc.)

On the regional level, a number of Länder have begun the task of implementing the measures agreed at Rio, for instance by entering into dialogue with various social groups and by developing a Land-wide Agenda 21.

Bilateral cooperation is an important component in Germany´s activities related to sustainable development. The cooperation focuses on exchange of information, the resolution of bilateral questions and the transfer of technology for a cleaner and safer environment and is spread all over the continents and within Europe. Some examples to be mentioned are:

The Transfer Program, enabling projects in the field of environmental protection as advisory service to catch up the environmental standard of Western Europe in the countries of CEE.

Joint environmental management and coordination bodies have been formed inter alia with Poland (Deutsch-Polnischer Umweltrat und Kommission für nachbarschaftliche Zusammenarbeit auf dem Gebiet des Umweltschutzes) and with the Czech Republic (Gemeine Umweltkommission).

In Asia, Germany is involved in the ASEM process (Asia Europe Meeting) and supports the Germany-Singapore Environmental Technology Agency (GSETA) which holds seminars, workshops and conferences.

Many bilateral meeting and conferences are organized, like the Sino-German environment Conference in Bejing in December 2000.

Germany has concluded environment cooperation agreements with the following countries:

Albania, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, China, Estonia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakian Republic, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, and USA.

* * *

This information was provided by the Government of Germany to the fifth, sixth and eighth sessions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: August 2001.

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TRADE

No information is available.

German environmental legislation does not on principle differentiate on the basis of destination (be it in Germany or abroad) of production processes or trade flows. 

The open, multilateral trading system and the intensification of the international division of labor accompanying trade liberalization, called for in Agenda 21, are favored by the German Federal government as a matter of principle because of their positive impact on economic growth and development.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement  

No information is available.

Programmes and Projects

No information is available.

Status

Environmental protection in Germany is of a high standard and should therefore provide adequate protection from environmental problems ("hot spots") even if production increases.

The Federal Government regards ecological modernisation as an opportunity for the environment and employment. Germany´s high level of environmental protection is a direct consequence of the country´s economic capacity, founded primarily on the Federal Republic of Germany´s close integration into the world economy. 

Free availability of energy and raw materials on the world market and free access to international markets are of fundamental importance to the Federal Republic of Germany as the number two world trading nation.

Challenges

No information is available.

No information is available.

Information

Under the Federal Republic of Germany's environmental protection legislation, the country has a dense system of reporting and monitoring. This allows the current ecological status of all environmental media to be continuously recorded with adequate precision – regardless of the destination of production, be it in Germany or abroad.

Information on investment opportunities in Germany is provided under the following URL: www.business-in-germany.de.

A database on investment-related support programmes may be accessed via the homepage of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (URL: www.bmwi.de )

Research and Technologies 

The export sector is of growing importance to Germany's environmental technology industry. The German environmental technology industry is performing very successfully against international competition. For many years Germany led the field in terms of its share of world trade in environmental goods, but recently other industrialized countries have been catching up. 

Traditionally, the transfer of technology and the adoption of existing technology to the special needs of developing countries forms an integral part of Germany's development cooperation. The foundation of the International Transfer Centre for Environmental Technology (Internationales Transferzentrum für Umwelttechnik - ITUT) in Leipzig deserves particular mention.

Financing

In the ecological tax reform, implemented on April 1, 1999, tax receipts are used to decrease wage costs.

Cooperation

Germany supports the work of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in this area. As the first tangible result, an OECD working group of trade and environment experts presented process-related guidelines on the subject in 1993. The Federal government also supports the work of UNCTAD on United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) implementation, especially in the areas of trade, raw materials, technology, services, poverty, and privatization. The Federal Republic of Germany supports studies on tradable carbon dioxide (CO2) emission certificates.

* * *

This information was provided by the Government of Germany to the fifth, sixth and eighth sessions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: February 2000.

For Trends in Europe and North America: ECE statistical data base, click here.

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CHANGING CONSUMPTION PATTERNS

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies   

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety is the responsible Government body dealing with aspects of sustainable consumption and production patterns. On the Laender level (16 German Bundeslaender) in principle the ministries responsible for environment protection are as well dealing with aspects of sustainable consumption and production patterns. On the local level the cities are the responsible administrative bodies. There are 14 561 cities in Germany.

Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations 

Within the context of the CO2 reduction programme: Thermal Insulation Ordinance (sets out legal limits for heat consumption), Energy Saving Ordinance ( summarisation of the Thermal Insulation ordinance and the Heating Systems Ordinance in order to achieve an overall energy optimisation of new buildings), Heating Surveys (Heizspiegel) in major cities find the 10% most wasteful multi-family buildings (oil, gas, or district heating) by computerised comparison of heating bills (www.heizspiegel.de), New ruling on tax subsidies for homeowners (special bonuses for low-energy houses and the use of energy efficient technologies), and Energy Consumption Labelling Act and Energy Consumption Ordinance (labelling of refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, tumble dryers, combined washer dryers and dishwashers).

Within the context of the Closed Substance Cycle Act: The Packaging Ordinance, End-of-Life Vehicle Ordinance (sets out the framework conditions for the environmentally-compatible disposal of used cars), Battery Ordinance, Sewage Sludge Ordinance (limits the use of sewage sludge in agriculture), and Technical Instructions on waste from Human Settlement (prescribes a fundamental turnaround in waste disposal by the year 2005 in respect to separate waste collection, mineralisation and upgrading landfill sites).

Codes of Practice for industries for the activities of industry include environmental management systems, standards for product design, standards for eco-labeling, standards for LCA. These have been established mainly by industry and are voluntary.

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans  

Among the specific policy and economic instruments that have been adopted to discourage unsustainable and encourage sustainable consumption and production practices are the following:

• Emission-based motor vehicle tax: Motor vehicle tax has taken greater account of pollutant emissions. In addition, so-called 5-litre cars will receive a one-off tax exemption of DM 500 if registered for the first time before 1 January 2000, whilst so-called 3-litres cars will receive tax exemption of DM 1.000, irrespective of first-time registration.
• Favorable framework conditions for gas-powered vehicles to be launched on the market: the mineral oil tax for natural and liquid petroleum gas was lowered to the EU minimum tax rate. Criteria for a Blue Angel for low-noise-gas-powered commercial vehicles and buses were adopted. In the area of commercial business, all types of gas-powered vehicles and gas filling stations are being subsidised with favorable loan terms.
• Support Programme for Renewable Energies under the Federal Ministry of Economics (Capital subsidies in the form of investment grants for the purchase and installation of renewable energy systems).
• KfW subsidy programme to save energy in old buildings (programme to subsidise energy-renovation of building stock via loans from the Reconstruction Loan Corporation (KfW -Kreditanstalt f? Wiederaufbau) at subsidised interest rates. Renovation of energy-inefficient multi-family buildings as identified by "heating surveys" (see answer to question 8) may get additional incentives in 1999.
• 50.000 Roofs Initiative by the German Equalisation Bank (DtA - Deutsche Ausgleichsbank) (loans at subsidised interest rates for solar installations (solar collectors for hot water and heating, as well as photo voltaic installations) and other systems which utilise renewable energy sources (biomass and biogas installations, thermal pumps, geothermal installations).

There is no comprehensive national Strategy addressing the concerns of sustainable consumption and production. But in order to realize integration of environmental aspects in other policy areas the issue of changing consumption and production patterns is of highest priority. Therefore this aspect plays especially a crucial role in the policy strategy for the years ahead or has already been realized with specific environmental legislation or programs ( Waste Management and Product Recycling, the Packaging Ordinance System, the Climate Protection program, the environmental label system etc.).

In order to discuss the policy strategy for a sustainable development in Germany the Federal Minister for the Environment invited all groups in society to take part in a process of discussion on the next steps towards sustainable and environmentally sound development in Germany. Reports were drafted by six working groups (with participants from130 groups and institutions including participants from the business sector, environmental pressure groups, consumer organisations, unions, science) identifying priority areas of action as well as goals and measures. On the basis of these proposals the Federal Environment Ministry has drawn up the Draft Programme for Priority Areas in Environmental Policy which was published in April 1998. The Draft Programme does not set out to give a definitive account of the guiding principle of sustainable development nor to cover the full spectrum of future tasks facing environmental policy, but focuses exclusively on areas in which the need for action along the road to sustainable development remains greatest, bearing in mind the high level of environmental protection already achieved in many fields. It goes beyond the field of responsibility of the Federal Environment Ministry and puts forward proposals for contributions from other policy spheres, the Laender and local authorities, business and industry, and other stakeholders. In this way the draft continues along the path chosen in recent years, a path of dialogue and of strengthening individual responsibility among all the stakeholders involved.

Two major NGOs, Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) and the Catholic Development Aid organisation Misereor, in 1995 published a lengthy study "Sustainable Germany" detailing many steps towards sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Because of the environmental policy strategy in place that comprises a mix of the various policy instruments and tools to realize sustainable development, industry focuses more and more on the production of resource and energy-efficient, long living and recyclable products.

Some examples:

1. Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act aims at closing substance cycles and reducing material throughputs. It entered into force in October 1996. Even ahead of its entry into force, it prompted a rethink of waste management and product design amongst industry, the retail sector and consumers, and effected a reduction in waste volume.
2. The Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act realizes the fundamental waste management idea of extending the responsibility of producers to the entire life cycle of their products. This obligation means that products should, as far as possible, be designed in such a way that, in their manufacture and use, the arising of waste is avoided and that, at the end of their life cycle, as high a level of environmentally sound disposal as possible is guaranteed. The Act its therefore striving to promote the development of products of this kind which on the one hand are multi-use, long-life and repair-friendly and on the other can be recovered and disposed of in as unproblematic a manner as possible.
3. The imperative of recycling residual substances and products presents both process engineering and product design with new, difficult challenges, and in tackling these challenges substantial potential for innovation can be tapped.
4. In the area of waste avoidance and recycling various regulations, some voluntary and some binding have been drawn up in recent years on the areas of packaging, used cars, waste paper, construction wastes and batteries. Similar provisions on the collection and disposal of end-of-life electrical appliances are currently under preparation. Sewage sludge and compost made from biological waste are likewise subject to the dictates of recycling on which the closed Substance Cycle and Waste management Act is based.
5. The Federal Government's national climate protection programme aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 25 percent by the year 2005, compared with 1990 levels. To date some 150 measures have been implemented. The key approaches target the following areas:
   • Energy savings in all areas where it is used
   • Boosting efficiency ratios and utilisation levels during the conversion of fossil fuels including more widespread use of combined heat and power generation
   • Conversion from CO2-rich to low-CO2 fossil fuels
   • More extensive use of renewable energy sources
6. After the liberalisation of the electricity market in April 1998 several NGOs and the independent renewable energy power producers are beginning to use the new opportunities and to sell electricity from renewable sources directly to the consumer. Consumers now have the opportunity to translate their strong declared support for renewable energy into their personal electric purchasing behaviour.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement  

One of the tasks of the various consumer institutions is to give consumers guidelines for environmentally sound behavior. The institutions are partly financed by the federal government. In this respect the Government did not establish special guidelines for consumer. See also under Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans. 

Programmes and Projects 

In the framework of the Draft Programme for Priority Areas in Environmental Policy, a pluralistically constituted working party (science, retail trade, industry, consumer organisations, environmental groups, advertising industry, trade unions, local authorities) was established to elaborate a strategy to promote sustainable patterns of consumer behavior. 

A Roundtable on Sustainability comprised of representatives from science, retail trade and the Environment Ministry to strengthen the role of the retail trade in enforcing a strategy of sustainable consumption was established. In parallel sustainability strategies are developed and tested in pilot retail operations. 

These programmes try to find a balance among environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects of sustainable consumption and production. See also under Status.

The Environment Ministry supported projects of consumer organisations in order to help them formulate their strategies. One example is the project by Consumers International, that was financed by Germany and the Netherlands, entitled, "Green Guidance. How consumer organisations can give better advice on putting sustainable consumption into practice. "The Stiftung Warentest", a consumer interest organisation, established environmental priorities for product tests. 

Status

The area of consumption and production patterns is a very comprehensive area which touches the various aspects of German environmental policy and strategies.

The current levels of efficiency in the usage of energy, water and other materials by industries and by households, as well as their general trend over time, are as follows: Development over the period 1990 to 1995:

• Energy: Declining energy consumption (-4,1 percent) and an even sharper drop in CO2 emissions (-12,5) 1990/1997.
• Resources: Tangible progress in waste avoidance and the realisation of closed substance cycle (e.g. packaging consumption down 13,3 percent 1990/95).
• Water: Declining water consumption (mining and manufacturing industry -18 percent, households -8,7 percent 1991/95).

National targets include: Reduction of CO2 emissions by 25 percent by the year 2005, compared with the 1990 levels. The draft programme for priority areas identifies some more targets, but they have not been discussed yet broadly in Germany.

The LCA, EMAS, ISO 14 000 series are used by industry on a voluntary basis.

A lot of projects in Germany address the issues cited above like LCA, energy saving, labeling, closed substance cycle. Of special interest in this context are four projects funded by the Environment Ministry addressing directly the area of sustainable consumption:

• Strategies and instruments to promote sustainable consumption;
• Household exploration of the conditions, possibilities and borders to sustainable consumption;
• Priorities and trends of sustainable consumption (indicators); and
• Elaboration of a common understanding of the major groups involved about the steps to promote sustainable consumption.

NGOs are particularly active in promoting consumption of organic agriculture products, and in discouraging purchasing one-way bottles, cans, etc., as well as in campaigning against genetically modified food.

The Policy of the closed substance cycle has succeeded in achieving substantial waste avoidance and recycling over the last few years. Waste volumes have declined appreciably and there has been a significant rise in the ratio of recycled waste to total waste volumes. The Packaging Ordinance has had a positive impact in the packaging sub-sector. Various voluntary commitments on the part of industry have also contributed to the decline in waste volumes and the rise in the recycling quota. For instance, the voluntary commitment to increase the quota for recycled graph paper to 60 per cent by 2000 was easily exceeded in 1996, with over 80 per cent.

An increasing number of companies is beginning to discover that positive steps towards sustainable production and consumption can be a competitive advantage on the market, and such companies have significant impacts in their respective sectors.

Fig. 1: Waste volumes and recycling quota in Germany

Fig. 2: Packaging use in Germany

Challenges  

The priority constraint is the wish of consumers to make individual purchase decisions. Individuals don't want to be influenced by others when making decisions directly linked to their personal life styles. Another priority constraint is the unwillingness by consumers to pay higher prices for products of better environmental quality.

Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising

Since the end of the 1980s, the Environment Ministry has been supporting Environmental Consultancy Projects for communicating information and advice for all areas and institutions in society where products are produced and disposed, where energy is used, where services are offered, or where discussions takes place.

The German youth organisations and youth associations, associated in the Federal Youth Council, spread out a number of activities over the last years through their youth political representation and in the field of educational and leisure measures, related to ecological questions and sustainable development. Activities and methods of the youth associations are outlined by the following four points of main emphasis:

1. Measures for practical participation of children and young people are action and project oriented. Outstanding examples are: work-camps, environmental construction sites, ecological research stations and research-camps, campaigns promoting the development of environmental rights of children, activity events in Clubs (e.g. the Rudi-Rotbein-Club), annual events related to the issues of the Agenda 21 and self-help projects within the framework of international cooperation.
2. In the field of trainee and educational work, seminars and educational events are carried out, for example, in the framework of a project on an environmental and social generation treaty; project weeks are offered in schools, and assistants are employed in voluntarily environmental years.
3. The development of environmental standards within the youth's own activities clarifies in a special way an integrated environmental approach. Some youth associations, for example, carry out examinations in order to find out if their activities and leisure activity measures are ecologically harmless. In addition they developed Programmes to create environmental balances of conferences, body meetings and events. The youth associations educational establishments and events are planned according to environmental standards.
4. Regarding further vocational training for a multiplier effect, work aids, experience and action material are developed. Seminars for youth group leaders are also offered. Within the range of further vocational training, the youth associations offer a three -year-trainee programme to become an environmental teacher.

A Big Energy Saving campaign of the Environment Ministry was facilitated by publishing the energy saving book, My Agenda 21. One and one-half million copies were distributed. In the context of the energy saving book, 157 articles were published in the print media with a circulation of twenty-four million copies. In addition reports were given in the electronic media with a viewing figure of two million people. Tenants and owners can compare their heating bills with city-wide "heating surveys" or with national data right on the Internet (www.heizspiegel.de).

The Campaign of the Environment Ministry together with the German NGO BUND was intended to inform about the possibilities to reduce standby losses in electric appliances. The campaign was carried out in ten German cities.It was published in the print media with a circulation of ten million. Reports were given with a listening figure of five million.

The German NGO B.A.U.M. carried out a campaign entitled, "The Environmentally friendly household" in connection with a "household-check". On the basis of this check the households were given many tips on how to improve environmental quality. The campaign was accompanied by media work. The most important event was a common activity with the German BILD newspaper, the most popular newspaper in Germany with a circulation of six million. The campaign was sponsored by industry. The Environment Minister was the patroness.

Information

National information available to assist both decision-makers and industry managers to plan and implement appropriate policies and programmes in the above mentioned areas include the results of research programmes, market analyses, policy analyses, statistics, and LCA.

There is also a Monitoring System for the self commitment of industry on climate protection.

Information for heating energy and heating cost is available on the World Wide Web, at http://www.heizspiegel.de

Research and Technologies 

Ways of promoting clean and environmentally sound technologies are: regulations, environmental management systems, subsidy programs, research programmes, labeling, economic instruments like taxes, self commitments of industry, education, training programmes, advice, and etc.

Packaging and other processes that promote energy and material efficiency, reduce and recycle wastes, and extend life expectancy of products include: the Green Dot System and the Blue Angel Programme.

Together with the Ministry for Education and Research, the Ministry for the Environment launched a research program on sustainable consumption.

Financing

The manner in which activities are financed depends on the character of the activity, the actors involved and the body or institution that is responsible. As there are special governmental programmes on the federal, regional and local levels, as well as special private activities, and so on, it is the body in charge who gives the financial means.

Cooperation

Examples of cooperation in this area include the following:

• In 1992, the member states of the European Community adopted the Regulations on a Common System for the Award of an Ecolabel. This ecolabel is to be awarded to products which throughout their life cycle are less harmful than comparable conventional products. The German Government is urging rapid implementation of this regulation to give the consumer a uniform, transparent, and informative European Union-wide labelling system.
• As part of the pan-European research and Technology scheme EUREKA, the working group PREPARE (Preventive Approach to Environmental Protection in Europe) was established in 1990 in order to promote product and production integrated Environmental protection in industry by exchanging information and organising meetings between environmental specialists from industry and representatives of science, research, and administration.
• TV and Internet are integrated at the Terranet-C@f?(www.terranetcafe.de) to activate young people on Agenda 21 issues, life-styles and projects. So far nineteen 30-minute life broadcasts including life Internet-chats generated about 50.000 site-visits in 6 months in 1998. The project was broadcast on 3SAT, a public satellite channel of four German-speaking countries.

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This information was provided by the Government of Germany to the seventh session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: November 1998.

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FINANCING

No information is available.

Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations 

On 1 April 1999 Germany introduced the first of at least five steps of an "ecological tax reform". 

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans  

The tax reform aims to provide incentives to speed up structural change in the German economy, to mobilise investment to conserve energy, to switch to sustainable energies and transport, to encourage the introduction of environmentally friendly production processes and to promote employment. This will further reinforce Germany's leading position as a source of environmentally sound products. It will also help to modernise and strengthen Germany's economy.

The first step comprised the introduction of an electricity tax of DM 0.02 per kilowatt hour and the increase of existing taxes on mineral oils (diesel and petrol by DM 0.06 per litre; natural gas by DM 0.0032 per kilowatt hour, light heating oil by DM 0.04 per litre). Since the tax reform is revenue-neutral, all revenues are given back to the citizens and to industry in the form of a 0.8% reduction in contributions to statutory pensions insurance.

A major environmental objective is to reduce the consumption of energy and thus to reduce CO₂ emissions in order to reach Germany’s ambitious target of a 25% reduction in the 1990 emissions level by 2005. To these ends a shift of the tax burden from positive factors, such as labor, to negative factors, such as utilisation of natural resources or environmental pollution, is being implemented.

Further steps for the next four years (2000 to 2003) will increase the electricity tax by another DM 0.005 per kilowatt hour per year and the tax on diesel and petrol by another DM 0.06 per liter per year. To promote local public transport (buses, rail, shared taxis), only half the rate of increase (i.e. 3 pfennigs per liter p.a.) must be paid.

Furthermore, diesel and petrol with a sulphur content above 50 ppm will be taxed with an additional DM 0.03 per liter from 1 November 2001. This threshold will be reduced to 10 ppm from 1 January 2003.

The tax rate on heavy fuel oil will now also be increased from DM 30 to DM 35 per tonne and simplified at the same time. From the year 2000, gas and cycle power plants will each be granted a ten-year exemption from the existing mineral oil tax, starting from the date of electricity generation, if they achieve an electric efficiency factor of at least 57.5%.

As in the first step, the exemption of all cogeneration plants from the existing mineral oil tax (with an efficiency degree of at least 70%) will be extended at least until the year 2003. Track-related transport will be tax-privileged with a continued reduction in electricity tax of 50%. By far the largest part of the revenues (about DM 5 billion p.a.) will be used to further lower statutory pensions insurance by 1.0%. The long-term continuation of a funding programme for renewable energies is also ensured by a minimum amount of DM 200 million p.a.

The Federal Government's new austerity plan incorporates the general phasing-out of subsidies, including environmentally unsustainable subsidies. But so far there is no special plan for the phasing-out of environmentally unsustainable subsidies.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement  

No information is available.

Programmes and Projects   

No information is available.

Status

Several fiscal provisions take into account social and ecological concerns as well as the competitiveness of industry and agriculture. The central ecological element of success for the ecological tax reform is the steadiness of energy price increases and the recycling of revenues by lowering non-wage costs and promoting low-sulphur fuels and highly efficient power stations. The long-term reliability of these framework conditions will send the right signals for energy conservation to consumers and investors.

The concept of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), which was developed in the 1990s, aims to promote co-operation between private companies and official development co-operation, in order to make sustainable development possible through joint action. Industry and development policy have a common interest in designing general political, legal and social conditions which are conducive to development. Whilst the German government makes its contribution towards creating the necessary structures at the political and institutional level, the private sector provides money and know-how. 

Challenges  

Poverty and social exclusion present a particular challenge for German government policy-making. The German government will continue, as it has done in the past, to make use of the means at its disposal to fight poverty and social exclusion in an effective and problem-oriented way.

It may be assumed that, in general, "absolute poverty", as defined as a situation in which survival is uncertain, no longer occurs in Germany. The hardship of the immediate post-war period having been overcome, absolute poverty is now a phenomenon that occurs more in the countries of the Third and Fourth World.

In Germany, this type of material poverty, in other words a degree of deprivation that jeopardizes survival (extreme/absolute poverty), is prevented by the existing social security systems. Within the system of social security, some parts of which date back over one hundred years, social assistance constitutes the ultimate safety net for all those who do not have sufficient income or assets.

In Germany, therefore, extreme poverty (resulting, perhaps, from a failure to claim the social assistance benefits to which one is entitled) is to be found only in exceptional cases. However, if one applies a broader definition of poverty, those living under particularly difficult circumstances must also be taken into account. These difficult circumstances may be brought about by unemployment, homelessness, a heavy burden of private debt or problems of addiction.

Thus, the position of people in Germany who are threatened by poverty differs vastly from the complex of problems that may be found in the countries of the Third World. It was in order to provide targeted and situation-specific support to those people in Germany who are in precarious circumstances and are not, or no longer, entitled to benefits from the higher-ranking systems of social security that the social assistance laws were created.

In 1998, some DM 45 billion were spent on those social assistance benefits that are financed from general tax revenue. Of this, around DM 21 billion was spent on regular cost-of-living assistance and around DM 24 billion on assistance in special circumstances (care assistance, integration assistance for the disabled, assistance for the sick).

Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising   

No information is available.

Information

The protection of the natural environment and resources is a key issue in most of Germany's co-operation activities with other countries. Therefore many institutions are involved in the financing of sustainable development and there is no single institution or web address that provides this information.

In accordance with the coalition agreement of 20 October 1998 between the government coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party of German and Alliance 90/The Greens, the new federal government will also be presenting a new report, a "report on rich and poor", which is to be published regularly.

Germany also provides information on issues related to Financing Sustainable Development to OECD, reflected in the German Development Policy, as well as in the Memorandum of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the DAC Aid Review, 1998/99; Bonn 1999. Further details could be found at: www.oecd.org/dac/.

Research and Technologies   

No information is available.

Financing

No information is available.

Cooperation

In response to an initiative launched by the German government, the wheels were set in motion at the Cologne Economic Summit in June of this year for debt relief amounting to US $ 70 billion in total to be granted to the poorest developing countries. This initiative was recently confirmed at the Annual General Meeting of the World Bank and IMF. As a result, more countries than before are to be included in the debt relief (up to 36), the countries are to enjoy more comprehensive debt relief, and thanks to rapid relief from debt servicing obligations more funds will immediately be available for education, health and basic infrastructure.

During the preparations for the new negotiating round of the World Trade Organisation WTO, the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development paid particular attention to the impact of new trade regulations on food security. For example, steps must be taken to ensure that export subsidies in Europe do not work to the disadvantage of the producers in developing countries and that price increases on the world market for grain do not cause poor countries which are net importers of food to be faced with shortages.

In this connection, the BMZ is also supporting the "World Dam Commission" with DM 2 million. In this Commission, representatives of governments, private industry and non-governmental organisations work together to establish common uniform standards for assessing the construction and operation of dams, in order to do justice to the different and often rival forms of water use.

With respect to the provision of additional grant funds for sustainable development, US$240 million and US$26.45 million respectively have been provided for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Montreal Protocol Fund from 1992 to 1997. Germany also makes considerable contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Capacity 21 Programme, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Targeted bilateral programmes have been developed to contribute to the implementation of international strategies to combat global environment risks in developing countries and special funds have been earmarked for this purpose. Normal debt relief in the context of the Paris Club total DM 166.8 million. For "debt for nature swaps", DM 50 million were made available in 1993, DM 80 million in 1994, DM 110 million in 1995, and DM 200 million in 1996. Agreements have been made with Bolivia, Côte d'Ivoire, the Cameroons, Ecuador, Honduras, Congo, Peru, Jordan, Vietnam, Philippines, and Nicaragua.

According to the German Government's financial plans up to 1999, the volume of the development aid budget, which covers about 70% of total ODA, is set to increase slightly over the next few years. However, due to the forecast rise in GNP, it is not possible to rule out a drop in the ratio of ODA to GNP.

* * *

This information was provided by the Government of Germany to the fifth and eighth sessions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: February 2000.

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TECHNOLOGY

Transfer of Environmentally-Sound Technology

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies   

No information is available.

Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations 

On the basis of the European Economic Community (EEC) Council Regulation No. 1836/93 allowing voluntary participation by companies in a community eco-management and audit scheme, Germany has enacted a Act concerning the accreditation of environmental verifiers and environmental verification organizations and the registration of eco-audited sites. The Act came into force on 15 December 1995. To date, 120 environmental verifiers and environmental verification organizations have been accredited, and approximately 410 participating sites have been registered. In addition, Germany is preparing for the implementation of the International Standards Organization (ISO) 14000 series concerning environmental management systems. Therefore Germany has adopted a certification procedure which is based on the approach laid down in the National Act. This enables German industry to have access to the European Union's voluntary Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) as well as to the system of the ISO 14000 series. With regard to the EMAS scheme, Germany is considered the possibility of using Article 14 of the EMAS-Regulation to include sectors outside industry in the scheme. In addition, a special project is under preparation to assist small and medium enterprises with the introduction of environmentally oriented management methods.

Together with environmental policy, structural change throughout the economy as a whole in Germany is reducing pressures on the environment. The causes of this are, on the one hand, the growing importance of less resource-intensive sectors in the wake of the expansion of the service sector and, on the other hand, the increasing transition to technologies and forms of organization that use energy and raw materials sparingly.

In Germany, there are no incentives or economic instruments that aim directly at promoting environmentally-friendly technologies. Assistance measures taken by the government tend more to be of an indirect nature. The environmental standards in force in Germany are derived from statutory requirements such as emission ceilings. Companies are therefore challenged to develop technologies that guarantee that emission ceilings are observed. In individual cases, tax law provides incentives to purchase environmentally friendly products. Tax law thus reinforces demand for products that lower pollution and spare resources. Examples of tax benefits include the following:

1. Petroleum used for cogeneration of power and heat enjoys the lower petroleum tax rate of heating fuels,
2. Lower petroleum tax rate for unleaded petrol,
3. Exemption from petroleum tax for pure biofuels
4. Motor vehicle tax exemption for buses used in public transport,
5. Reduced turnover tax for short-range passenger transport and lower petroleum tax rates on natural gas and liquefied gas for public transport vehicles,
6. Exemption from motor vehicle tax - during the first five years - for electrically powered vehicles,
7. Graduated motor vehicle tax rates for low-polluting and non-low-polluting passenger cars and trucks, and
8. Tax incentives for installation and thus manufacture of energy-saving equipment and designs.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement  

Environmental protection has always enjoyed great importance in German companies. German industry has declared itself willing to operate with an awareness of environmental needs by adopting voluntary commitments. In the framework of global climate protection, the German business community stated its willingness to reduce CO₂ emissions. Other examples are the voluntary commitments by the German automotive branch for the disposal of old cars and the 25% lowering of fuel consumption for passenger cars by the year 2005 (base year: 1990).

The idea of sustainable development, the need for applying environmentally sound technologies, especially through resource-sparing and more efficient production of goods, has been accepted by all industrial sectors of Germany. Most needed are ESTs in the economic sectors of transportation and private energy consumption. According to the German experience, the selection, transfer and application of ESTs is mainly the task of the private sector and takes place between individual firms (trade, direct investment, joint ventures etc.). The creation of an enabling environment (including a legal and policy framework that is conducive to technology-related private sector investment) can help to stimulate private sector investment in and transfer of environmentally sound technology. Environmental advice, related technology and know-how transfer are increasingly becoming an integrated part of activities of German industry and its self-governing organizations acting on an international level. For example, nearly 900 companies in Germany, distributed over all branches, subject themselves to a voluntary environmental audit. See also under Information.

The ERP Environmental and Energy Conservation Program grants loans at favorable conditions for commercial investment projects aimed at lowering or avoiding pollution in the fields of: Waste management (avoidance, use, and disposal of waste, and measures to clean up pollution from the past); Sewage treatment (water treatment, protection of water resources, avoidance of sewage and hazardous waste transport, purification and treatment of sewage); Clean air measures (avoidance or considerable reduction of emissions, flue gas purification and the filtering of emissions, as well as the reduction of noise, odors, and vibrations); and Energy conservation (conservation and efficient use of energy and investments in the use of renewable energies). There is also an Energy Research Program developed from the Strategy, geared toward reducing consumption of fossil fuel and upgrading the efficiency of energy conversion. The national climate protection program of the German Government envisages a 25% reduction of CO₂ emissions by the year 2005 as against 1990 levels.

Status

No information is available.

Challenges

No information is available.

Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising 

See under Information and Financing.

Information   

Providing developing countries with information on environmental technology is one goal of several bilateral agreements between the Federal Government and developing countries. The Federal Government has started an initiative to support the private sector in the transfer of advanced environmental technologies through cooperation schemes in overseas markets (that is China, Brasil, Mexico). Germany also supports two projects for phasing out chlorofluorcarbons (CFCs) in India and China.

The question-and-answer service run by the Information and Advisory Services for the Adaptation of Technologies (ISAT) on the basis of wide-ranging documentation aims to provide information and advice on technologies. This service not only helps to mobilize existing abilities and skills, and promotes self-help activities by non-governmental organizations, but also assists craft trades, small-scale industry, and local authorities in developing countries by providing information and advice. The programme PROTRADE has included in its advisory services for firms in developing countries aspects of the manufacture of clean products and modifications to production processes by using environmentally sound technologies. This applies especially to the food industry and the production of footwear/leatherware, furniture, and textiles.

The chambers of industry and commerce in Germany have compiled a CD-ROM listing suppliers of environmental protection products and services nationwide. Some 8,500 environmental protection profiles are offered with the descriptions of their environment-related goods and services. The list will also be provided on the Internet in future.

Research and Technologies  

No information is available.

Financing   

In the context of its technology cooperation and technical assistance programme, the German Government has in ten cases either established credit-lines on environmental issues or contributed to environmental funds. The aim is to facilitate investment in secondary or integrated technologies, particularly for small and medium-scale enterprises. Due to the German Government Transform Advisory Programme, an annual figure of approximately DM 5,5 million is directed into advisory services which include environmental issues. Some of these activities are organized in the context of technology transfer. The Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau and the Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) have special credit lines for banks in developing countries that can be used for environment related investments.

In 1992, the Government allocated DM 93 million to the promotion of universities in developing countries (for example in India, Thailand, Brazil, and Mexico), a considerable proportion of which is contributing to strengthening capacity in the environmental sector. The Centre for Appropriate Technology and Development Cooperation (ARTEFACT) provides grants to students from developing countries for special training in the field of appropriate technologies.

Seventy-three Chambers of Commerce and representatives of German business in foreign countries form an important network for the transfer of knowledge and technology related to the environment. As of January 1996, Environmental Area Managers reporting to the DIHT and ITUT have been installed in bilateral Chambers of Commerce in Shanghai, Bombay, Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Sao Paulo, Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw . It is the intention of the Government to extend the project. As of January 1st, 1997, an Area Manager will be assigned to Mexico.

Cooperation

Technical Cooperation

To supplement the activities by the private sector, Germany has established quite a number of mechanisms to stimulate and support the transfer of ESTs to developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Apart from direct commercial contacts and cooperation in science and technology, development cooperation plays an important role in this respect. Technical cooperation as part of development aid is the main instrument for the transfer of environmentally sound technologies at concessional and preferential terms and for capacity-building in those countries. The establishment and expansion of scientific and technological competence, the adaptation and dissemination of technologies and of production processes and products tailored to the particular needs and conditions of individual countries are part of Germany's development cooperation around the globe. The German Appropriate Technology Exchange (GATE) is a special working unit of the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) operating mainly in the fields of renewable energies, environmental and resource protection, village technology, building and construction, food processing, water supply and sanitation, and organic agriculture.

Based on the objectives set in Rio, the German Government's policy on cooperation in science and technology with developing countries, countries with economies in transition and newly industrializing countries (NICs) chiefly takes the form of collaboration between highly skilled researchers and scientists. Efforts are concentrated on areas such as tropical ecology, renewable energies, biotechnology or the protection of the marine environment.

As Germany is a worldwide leader in the export of modern environmental technologies, the Federal Government and Federations of German Business, Trade and Industry and the Deutscher Industrie-und Handelstag (DIHT) have established an International Centre for Transfer of Environment Technology (ITUT) in Leipzig. The Transfer Centre is part of an initiative by industry, research and the Federal Government to improve the transfer of technology to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.

In line with its two complementary objectives -- promotion of global environmental protection and supporting the export of German environmental technology -- the Transfer Centre is divided into two independent institutions, a non-profit association and a limited company. The founding members of the non-profit association to promote the international transfer of environmental technology (ITUT e.V.) are the Federal Republic of Germany, the Free State of Saxony, industry associations, trade unions, public banks, and scientific institutions. The association acts as an information and communication centre on environmental protection know-how with the objective of promoting the transfer of knowledge in the field of environmental protection as a way of helping solve regional and global environmental and developmental problems in partner countries, strengthening environmental awareness, and harmonizing legal systems and environmental standards worldwide.

The limited company (ITUT GmbH) is a supply and demand interface to facilitate the transfer of environmentally sound technology from Germany to partner countries for small and medium-sized businesses in particular. In this connection, the limited company cooperates closely with nine environmental area managers who are based in the overseas chambers of commerce of selected partner countries.

Currently the establishment of highly modern industrial structures with integrated environmental protection is becoming a dominant issue in Germany, especially in the new municipalities. The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce together with the Federal Ministry for the Environment are joint sponsors of the "Umweltbuero Ost der Deutschen Wirtschaft", established in September 1992.

Technical cooperation is the main instrument for the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and for capacity-building. Within the framework of development cooperation, Germany supports partner countries in the establishment and expansion of their scientific and technological competence and promotes the adaptation and dissemination of technologies. It also supports the development and application of processes and products which are tailored to the particular needs and conditions of individual countries and contribute to the development of their natural resources. Germany provides funds to employ an increasing number of experts from developing countries within the framework of technical cooperation to maximize the use of local potentials and contribute to capacity-building.

In order to enhance South-South cooperation, the Forum for Appropriate Technology (AT Forum) was established in mid-1993. It includes the ISAT project, the GTZ, and the DED, as well as 15 non-governmental organizations. The aim of this forum is to improve cooperation in the area of "Appropriate Technology". ISAT works with NGOs in countries of the South which emphasize the adaptation and dissemination of technology in their own development. In 1995, for example, a Colombian NGO consultancy organized a seminar on post-harvest technology in Columbia.

Investment and Joint Ventures

The Federal Republic of Germany supports investment projects in neighbouring countries which are designed to reduce transboundary pollution and to serve as models for applying advanced technology. Two examples are the sewage treatment plant in Swinemuende, Poland and the desulphurization plant at the Prunerov Power Plant in the Czech Republic.

The Federal Government promotes direct foreign investment of German enterprises through investment protection agreements, capital investment guarantees, double taxation agreements, and joint ventures. It supported the first German-Chinese workshop on the establishment of a hazardous waste management system in China and the Sino-German Special Waste Days in Beijing in 1994. The Germany-Singapore environmental technology agency (GSETA) represents a joint endeavour in supporting environmental protection efforts in developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The agency aims to facilitate and support transfer of know-how in environmental protection and of environmental technology through events organized jointly by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and Ministry of Environment of Singapore. The events include, for example, further training measures, seminars, workshops, and specific conferences on environmental management and environmental technology. The events provide opportunities for contact between participants and providers of environmental technology. More than 600 experts from the environmental administrations of 17 Asia-Pacific states were present during the 11 events organized.

It is the aim of German Industry to make a contribution using German expertise to relieve the strain on the environment at national and international levels. In Tunisia, the German Government will support the development of a training centre for environmental technology. The project will focus on training personnel of the Ministry of the Environment, its related authorities, and environmental officers from industry and commerce. In the area of joint ventures and other partnerships between developed and developing countries, the DEG is implementing a project in Rio Lajas, Costa Rica, which entails the construction of a hydro electric power plant whose reservoir will be fed by three rivers to ensure water supply during periods of peak demand. This project focuses on the use of renewable sources of energy, the exploitation of natural water resources, the low impact on the landscape by sound construction methods, and the avoidance of large-scale earth moving or flooding. The DEG also conducted country studies in Thailand and India which form the basis of joint ventures between local and German companies. Another project is an electricity generation project in Guatemala where DACASA, a family firm, has been active in the processing and marketing of sugar cane since 1986. A thermal power plant has now been built and the power produced is to be sold to the state power generation company and fed into the National grid.

* * *

This information was provided by the Government of Germany to the fifth and sixth sessions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last Update: April 1998.

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Biotechnology

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies   

In Germany, several ministries are involved in the issue of biotechnology, including the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, the Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology, the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as Federal departmental agencies and Ministries in the Laender. Support is provided by a scientific advisory body kn