German leaders hit EU climate change plan

BERLIN, July 16 (UPI) -- German leaders have criticized EU climate change efforts as harmful to its industries if other major greenhouse gas emitters don't also make reductions.

"Any success achieved in Europe would be pointless," said a Wednesday statement from the German Economy Ministry pointing to the need for commitments from other polluters such as China, India and the United States. The statement laid out strong criticisms of the package unveiled by the European Commission in January, the EU Observer reported Wednesday.

The Emissions Trading Scheme came in for particularly serious criticism with the German ministry saying that a proposed 21 percent reduction on 2005 levels in the amount of emissions trading permits would hurt jobs and growth in the EU's largest economy. Another key element in the ETS, the commission's proposal to begin auctioning pollution permits rather than giving them away, could undermine German corporations' investment plans.

With skyrocketing gas and oil prices already pushing investment in alternative energy, any additional governmental measures thus "should be considered only with great caution," concluded the German ministry.