In general, the media in Germany overwhelmingly welcome Obama’s plan to tackle CO2 emissions. But for many, Obama’s plan does not go far enough, or is just a front for something more sinister, like fracking. Others are skeptical whether action will actually follow his lofty rhetoric.
What follows are some German media reactions.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung even ridiculed the decreed, intrusive measures planned by Obama:
The National Security Agency has also been instructed to place a trojan in every computer. Monitors, TV screens, microwave ovens, and fridge displays are to function with the following screen-saver after being switched on every morning: ‘World Leader against Climate Change’. New car registrations are to be possible only when the color-poster of the ‘Action Plan’ are factory-installed in the interior of the windshield so that they are easily visible.”
Die Welt: Connie Hedegaard says that USA must now bow to international law.
EU climate commissar Connie Hedegaard emphasized that action has to follow the good intentions. The USA must obligate itself to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions over the long-term within the scope of a binding world climate agreement.”
Spiegel: “bruising and potentially costly political battle”
President Obama laid out an ambitious campaign to address climate change Tuesday, mapping a course that would bypass Congress to cut emissions from hundreds of coal-fired electric power plants and setting the stage for a possible rejection of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. The effort could shape Obama’s presidential legacy and fulfill a key promise of his 2008 campaign. It also could plunge him into a bruising and potentially costly political battle.”
Die Zeit: “hollow words…long list of bureaucratic decisions ”
US President Obama announced a new initiative for climate change. But hollow words are what’s left. Environmentalists say they are disappointed. […] Apart from his arousing rhetoric, his speech, interrupted by polite applause, was a long list of bureaucratic decisions and descriptions of measures. De facto what the plan is.
However, Obama’s latest environmental initiative is probably about political damage control. One of the most delicate issues during his presidency is the decision on the Keystone Pipeline.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung: “way too little, much too late”
Obama’s Minimal Solution to Healing the Planet […] From an international perspective, it is way too little, and much too late. If the US President wanted to set example to the world, then he would have to much more unrelentingly limit America’s notorious wasting of resources.”
Die Tageszeitung (TAZ) of Berlin: “bypassing Congress”
This time President Obama wants to assert a new climate policy by bypassing Congress. […] For ‘clean’ energy, in addition to wind and solar, he is banking on nuclear energy and – foremost – production of gas. Also with fracking.”
The Süddeutsche is amusing. About every sentence in the article is deluded.
“Für viele klingt Umweltschutz nach Jobvernichtung.”
“For many [Americans], environmental protection sounds like job destruction.”
Well it is. If it weren’t we could spend all our resources on it and become rich doing so. Environmental protection has always been a costly luxury.
” Erst jetzt, da sich die Konjunktur erholt, sieht Obama überhaupt Spielraum für seine Minimallösung.”
“Only now as the economy recovers does Obama see maneuvering room at all for his minimum solution.”
What? Recovery? Ya think? Because Bernanke pumped so much newly printed cash into the banks that the S&P reached an all time high? Well, we shouldn’t expect the Prantl-Prawda to know what paper money or the economy is; but it’s amusing nonetheless.
Yes, it was amusing. Interesting to see that the SZ sees “Spielraum” (room for play) for cutting CO2 only when the economy is recovering, thus contradicting there belief cutting CO2 is a job creator. 99.9% of SZ readers surely missed that.
Amusing… “Weil er das Parlament dafür nicht braucht, zwingt er Amerikas steinzeitliche Energie-Industrie jetzt endlich dazu, ihre schmutzigen Schlote wenigstens ein bisschen zu säubern.
Aus internationaler Sicht freilich ist das viel zu wenig und viel zu spät: Wollte Obama als globales Vorbild dienen, müsste er Amerikas notorische Ressourcenverschwendung viel unerbittlicher eindämmen.”
Which translates as: What you American need is to trash your democratic institutions in order to smash the dirty plutocrats without mercy. Here in Munich we know all about that…
I suppose they do. http://www.demotix.com/photo/2056411/remains-munich-capital-nazi-movement
Please. The “plutocrats” – I prefer calling them “monopoly capitalists” – were behind Hitler’s rise to power (Henry Ford, and GE, for instance) and they are behind the Green and warmist movement as well. (Rockefeller foundation funds McKibben, for instance).
Destroying coal just serves to diminish competition and establish higher prices; all in the interest of monopoly capitalists.
Obama never submitted the so called Copenhagen Accord to the US Senate for ratification that requires a 2/3 majority. Without ratification the Accord is meaningless and unenforceable.