We are hoping for a very ambitious agreement in Copenhagen, which means that the developed world has to commit to very ambitious aims. One cannot compare a country like Germany with a country like India — we have to accept the common but differentiated responsibility. Germany stands by the EU commitments of cutting 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions based on 1990 by 2020, irrespective of what happens in Copenhagen. We are also saying that if Copenhagen is a success, we will go for 30 per cent cuts. Further, in Germany, we have a commitment that we will reduce emission by 40 per cent by 2020 based on 1990 levels. We have done our homework and have a climate change action plan in place since 1990. We have had a reduction of 23.4 per cent emissions by the end of 2008. This shows that an industrial country is capable of reducing emissions even with economic growth!

•You are saying that economic growth and reduced emissions can go together. So is it feasible to penalise free private industry, which may be big emitters?

People say that we will have job losses if there are ambitious climate change cuts. But this is not true. Studies have shown that 40 per cent cuts will be possible, and will alongside create additional jobs in the new sectors that will come up, like renewable energy. We have an inter-ministerial group which works with all sectors, like foreign, defence, and agricultural sectors on mitigating climate change. We also prioritise renewable energy, by giving a 20 year price guarantee for suppliers. And in Germany, we are already penalising heavy emitters. So we are saying, if you are a polluting industry, like glass or steel, you can function, but you have to buy allowances, which is basically an emission right.

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