Merkel: World must support climate reforms

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By Tom LoBianco

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a speech to Congress calling for global financial order and for wealthy nations to strike a climate-change deal next month.

Mrs. Merkel also called for sharp economic sanctions against Iran if it does not cooperate with international nuclear inspectors, and said that the safety of Israel is "non-negotiable." The chancellor was largely circumspect about her country's involvement in Afghanistan, saying that Germany would "shoulder" its responsibility, without elaborating whether that meant committing more troops to the international effort.

While the German leader's remarks drew standing ovations just under a dozen times, her calls for action on climate change were received coldly by many congressional Republicans who sat while their Democratic counterparts stood and cheered.

"We can already see now where this wasteful attitude toward our future leads: Icebergs are melting in the Arctic. In Africa, people become refugees because their environment has been destroyed. The global sea level is rising," Mrs. Merkel said.

She said China, India and other developing nations must be brought to the table to strike a final agreement. The ultimate goal of global climate negotiators meeting in Copenhagen next month must be to cap global temperature increases at no more than 2 degrees Celsius, she said.

"To achieve this, we need the readiness of all countries to accept internationally binding obligations. We cannot afford missing the objectives in climate protection that science tells us have to be met," she said.

Mrs. Merkel, who recently was re-elected to a second term as chancellor, met with President Obama earlier in the morning before addressing Congress.

Mrs. Merkel analogized tearing down the Berlin Wall throughout the speech, and referenced the recent financial collapse as need for a "global framework of rules" addressing financial markets.

"We must not give in to the temptations of protectionism," Mrs. Merkel said in her speech, which was delivered largely in German. "Without global rules or transparency and supervision, we will not gain more freedom, but rather risk the abuse of freedom and thus risk instability."

She became only the second chancellor to address the full Congress -- and the first to address a joint session -- and used much of her speech to thank the United States for its role in reuniting Germany. She cited former Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton as inspirations, and spoke in English at the end of her speech when talking about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.