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Tackling Climate Change:
Taking action now for tomorrow's generations

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

 it is a great pleasure and honor for me to be here as your guest today and to have this chance to discuss with you issues vital to global environmental protection.
I am delighted that my visit to Japan gives me the opportunity to gather new ideas and share experiences.
I am very impressed with how you have joined forces in the “Kansai Economic Federation” to tackle the challenges of our time.
It sets an excellent example when a region’s industrial representatives work together in order to benefit the region and its people as a whole.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on all your good work, and I wish Kankeiren every success for the future.

The topic for today’s event has been well chosen by the organizer, because environmentally friendly products and technologies are now more important than ever.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, industrial environmental protection has already made remarkable progress in many countries.
The chemical industry has been committed to “Responsible Care” – that is, striving voluntarily to achieve improvements in environmental protection and safety – since the mid-1980s.
The concept of  “sustainable development”, which puts the spotlight on our responsibility for future generations, takes this commitment to a new level.
Today, environmental protection is right back at the top of the agenda of politicians, businesses and social groups. One phenomenon in particular has virtually led to a renaissance in this area – climate change.

The closing report of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change came to a clear conclusion – which can no longer be ignored: Climate change is a reality, and man is one of its primary causes.
It is the biggest ecological challenge currently dominating environmental debate in Europe and worldwide – and is expected to stay that way for a number of years.

Some of you may be wondering what exactly the company that I represent – Bayer – has to do with climate issues at all. Here in Japan, Bayer is primarily known as a pharmaceutical company, but we are also active in the field of crop protection. And we are a leading manufacturer of high-quality plastics.
In other words, this all adds up to almost 11 million tons of products per year, along with high raw material and energy consumption – and thus, significant greenhouse gas emissions.
In short, energy consumption and climate protection are also at the top of Bayer’s agenda.

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Important topics demand clear statements, clear commitments and a clear stance. Therefore, I say clearly that I consider today climate change to be the biggest global challenge of our time facing all social actors.
This is because global warming, for which man is responsible, has a direct impact on our future. And because, if climate change continues unabated, it will have dramatic consequences for our children and future generations!
The crisis on the global financial markets and the stark economic downturn will not change this priority.
It would be a fatal error if this turmoil caused us to reduce our efforts to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
Indeed, the financial crisis clearly demonstrates the fatal consequences of not aligning commercial behavior to sustainability.

I cannot therefore emphasize enough that climate change is not a luxury that we can only afford in good times. Although the financial crisis temporarily complicates the situation, our efforts with regard to climate protection have to go on.
No matter how complex the issue may be, it all comes down to a simple “yes” or ”no” question for politicians, businesses and society: Will we face up to our responsibility or not? There is really only one possible answer to this question – we have to.
We owe it to coming generations to do all we can to protect the planet. And we now have to demonstrate the strength of our commitment.

And we have to act today, because there is no time to lose. Otherwise, we stand to dramatically worsen our starting position in efforts to limit the negative consequences of climate change.

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Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank, summed up the monetary dimension of this challenge in a few simple, yet very convincing statements:
He has calculated that to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, we must limit global warming to no more than 2 or 3 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures.
In the best case scenario, he forecasts that the costs of such a limitation would amount to around one percent of the worldwide gross domestic product per year to 2050.
However, if we don’t act, Stern predicts that the costs in the same period will spiral to between 5 and 20 percent of the worldwide gross domestic product per year.

Another central aspect emerging from the negative scenarios of global warming has an ethical dimension: We only have to think of floods, droughts and widespread epidemics.
Although it has been the industrial countries that have played the main role in causing climate change, it is the developing countries that are the worst affected.

With this in mind, we need a clear global commitment to strong and effective climate protection.
But are we able to agree – and adhere to – a joint international approach?
The good news is that we are certainly taking the right direction.

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