Anniversary Celebration in Berlin: "Scientific council marks 10 years as a force for change in global sustainability policy"

The anniversary is to be celebrated in Berlin on the 3rd of July. Among those taking part will be representatives of the German government including the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul and the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Environment Ministry, Simone Probst. The ceremonial speech will be delivered by Member of the German Bundestag and Chairman of the Parliamentary Study Commission 'Globalization of the World Economy', Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker. The Council advises the German government on international environment and development policy. Members of the Council are appointed by the German Federal Cabinet for four-year terms and are eminent scientists with international experience.

Provided intensive scientific support for UN negotiations

In the past decade, the Council has become a scientific force for change towards global sustainable development. Its brief, originally confined to global environmental change, now spans the entire range of problems associated with global change. Its proposals have played a vital role in shaping the debate in a range of policy spheres, including climate, soil and biodiversity policy in particular but also development finance and reform of the United Nations (UN). Reports have been produced on a series of UN negotiations, for instance on the Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development, the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

Initiated debate on new financing mechanisms

In their most recent report, the scientists have instigated a debate on innovative financing mechanisms for international sustainability policy. They propose levying charges on the use of international airspace and oceans, dedicating the revenue to provide sound financing for climate and coastal protection in developing countries. The report was received with great interest, both in Germany and internationally. Thus in June of this year the German Bundestag called upon the German government to examine the possibility of implementing this proposal within the European Union (EU). The German government's recently published report on the environmental policy of the 14th legislative period states that, in future, take-off and landing fees at German airports are to be set according to the level of aircraft emissions.

Pointed the way forward in climate policy

The Council pointed out the weaknesses of the Kyoto Protocol in an early study. The study set out the problems involved in offsetting afforestation measures against fulfillment of greenhouse gas reduction commitments. This gave rise to a debate on potential conflicts between climate protection and biodiversity conservation. The Council also drew attention to the acceptable limits of climate change by defining 'guard rails' setting out the maximum global warming which could still be tolerated. According to our current scientific understanding, any rise in temperature in excess of about 1.5 degrees Celsius as a global average (with reference to today's value) is beyond ecologically and economically acceptable limits. However, the reduction targets agreed in the Kyoto Protocol are too low to maintain a sufficient safety margin from the guard rails.

Contributed new ideas to the debate on UN reform

For many years the Council has been drawing attention to the fact that the existing international institutions for sustainable development are too weak to contend with future challenges. One of its reports analysed these structures and showed how the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) could be reformed and upgraded to an International Environmental Organization. The German Bundestag took up this proposal and in June of this year called upon the German government to speak out in Johannesburg in support of strengthening UNEP. In addition the Council proposed the establishment of an 'Earth Council' made up of internationally renowned figures, modelled on the Brundtland Commission. In further discussions, the suggestion has since been pursued under the heading of a 'World Commission for Sustainability and Globalization'. The Council has already presented its ideas for reform at the Second Global Ministerial Environment Forum 2000 in Nairobi.

Strengthened international soil protection policy

The Council has made a substantial contribution to raising the profile of soil protection as a policy issue, despite a delay of several years before its proposals were brought even partially to fruition. In particular, it pressed for the creation of a global soil convention expanding upon the existing international regime (the Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD) in which protection is currently confined to soils in arid regions only. Furthermore, by promoting better scientific advice for the United Nations on soil issues, modelled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Council instigated a debate which has now been taken up by UNEP. Both in Germany and the EU, soil protection has improved considerably. As of 1998, Germany had its own Soil Protection Act and the EU Commission intends to pass a European soil protection strategy by the year 2004.

Recommendation on development finance has been largely disregarded

As to proposals which received minimal or no active response from policy makers, the list includes the repeated recommendation to increase funding for development cooperation to 1% of gross domestic product (GDP). However, initial progress was made at the Monterrey Conference on Financing in March 2002, where an increase of more than 20% was achieved in the financial resources available worldwide for development cooperation. In the run-up to the conference, the German government gave a commitment to increase its development spending from the current level of 0.27% of GDP to 0.33% by the year 2006. Not least for the sake of dismantling a fertile breeding ground for global terrorism, greater commitment to development financing by the industrialized nations will be indispensable in future.

Exposed gaps in research and inspired programmes

The Council has taken research policy in new directions by exposing gaps in environmental research and developing new methods. In particular it developed the new approach ('syndrome research') for interdisciplinary research into the 'clinical profiles' of the Earth System. This approach is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and has since been refined, principally in other countries (Harvard University, University of Bern, etc.) It also made a considerable contribution to a new biosphere research programme (BioTEAM) with a primary focus on resolving the conflict between conservation and use of biodiversity.

Recommendations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development

For the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Council recommended that the German government should concentrate on the most pressing problems of global change and focus its efforts on the following points as a priority: 

– Upgrading the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) into an International Environmental Organization 

– Reforming global energy systems in line with climate protection principles, and passing a 'World Energy Charter' 

– Improving forest protection in the form of a forest protocol to the Biodiversity Convention 

– Improving sustainable management of freshwater by passing a 'World Water Charter' 

– Agreeing to hold a world summit on the impacts of global change on infectious diseases.