Embassy Row

BRIDGE TO SOMEWHERE

The German ambassador Tuesday called for an “energy revolution” as he opened a joint German-U.S. project his government calls a “trans-Atlantic climate bridge” to encourage government and private cooperation to produce cleaner power.

“We are facing enormous economic challenges,” Ambassador Klaus Scharioth told energy experts at his residence. “During these difficult times; it is critical that we take the long view on energy and climate change.”

He noted the challenges of trying to meet air quality goals set out in the Kyoto climate treaty during the global financial crisis.

“First, we need an energy revolution that involves both the public and private sector and decision-makers at all levels,” Mr. Scharioth said. “Second, we need more cooperation.”

That is the reason for the “climate bridge.”

“I believe that by working together, Germans and Americans can be a powerful engine for trans-Atlantic and also global climate cooperation,” he said.

Mr. Scharioth noted that many of his guests already show the success of U.S.-German cooperation on energy projects.

“First Solar, the largest manufacturer of thin-film solar cells in the world, is an excellent example of a U.S. company thriving in Germany, thanks to the country’s favorable framework for renewable energies,” he said, introducing the firm’s chief executive officer, Michael Ahearn.

Guests included: L. Preston Bryant Jr., Virginia’s secretary for natural resources; Kathleen McGinty, former secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection and the acting secretary, John Hanger; Claudia Wormann of the Federation of German Industries; and Eicke Weber, director of Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.

Mr. Bryant recently led a delegation to Hamburg to study Germany’s efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Pennsylvania and Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region have established partnerships in the energy sector.

Mr. Scharioth added that Germany has already met its goal under the Kyoto treaty of reducing its carbon emissions to 22 percent below the levels emitted in 1990. Critics, however, say Germany achieved much of its target by closing old, coal-fired energy plants in East Germany.

“A green economy can generate growth, create jobs, ensure energy security and prevent our climate from deteriorating further,” the ambassador said.

CZECH-EU SPAT

A former Czech ambassador to the United States on Tuesday stood up for the European Union amid criticism over the Czech Republic’s dedication to the EU.

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