Leaked Report: Germans Raise CO2 Reduction Targets To 40%

German government raises emissions reductions targetsThe German news magazine Der Spiegel obtained a leaked report from the German government indicating Germany’s plans to create a low carbon society. The official report claimed that raising CO2 reduction targets to 40 percent relative to 1990 would lead to the creation of 500,000 jobs. And the same paper revealed two examples of how the approach might work; already the German carmaker Audi is planning to recruit more engineers in a direct effort to curb the carbon emissions of its fleet. Siemens, the German ICT company, meanwhile reported that sales of environmentally friendly product lines rose from €17 billion to €19 billion in a year, according to the leaked report.

The leaked report coincided with the global climate negotiations in Poznan, where the biggest breakthrough has been the inclusion of rainforests in the next climate deal. This means that the global carbon market is due to receive a massive boost in 2013, when the Kyoto protocol expires. Most likely this will translate into more money for tropical forests. It’s also highly likely funds will be available for the installation of carbon filters at coal plants in the industrialized world. Parties from various countries are calling for new rules for participating projects in carbon trading. They want the rules to be based on beating a carbon standard/benchmark compared to a country’s main source of energy, be it coal or oil.

However a carbon market is going to emerge, what’s certain is that government input is required if noticeable change will be effected. Look at the clean tech industry, also known as the green tech industry. This sector emerged virtually only because of government incentives, including seizable tax breaks, subsidies and other funds, according to a report on GreenTechMedia. The boom in solar and wind power plants and biofuels is the visible result of green funding and will in the next years start to become a job spinner of proportion. Big question now is whether the carbon markets will replicate similar success.

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