Merkel urges US Congress on climate change (2nd Roundup)

By Mike McCarthy Nov 3, 2009, 17:36 GMT

Washington - German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in the US Congress on Tuesday by calling for the United States and Europe to 'tear down the walls of today' and reach an agreement on reducing climate change.

'We all know we have no time to lose,' Merkel told US lawmakers, who are struggling to pass legislation to curb greenhouse gases, a key part of President Barack Obama's agenda to take the lead in the international efforts to rein in global warming.

Merkel met earlier with Obama before becoming the first German chancellor since Konrad Adenauer in 1957 to address a joint session of Congress. She urged the United States to work closely with Europe to reach an agreement ahead of the UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen in December. Doubts have been raised about whether Obama can sign a bill by then.

The goal of the Copenhagen talks is to secure an international pact to cut the greenhouse gases blamed for climate change by 2020, but a bill has stalled in the majority Democratic Senate in part because of Republican opposition. Republicans fear the inability to bring emerging economic powers like China and India into a climate pact will leave the United States at a competitive disadvantage.

But Merkel said the United States and Europe had to take the lead to encourage other countries to recognize the threat of global warming and agree to tackle it.

'In December, the world will look to us, to the Europeans and to the Americans. And it is true, there can be no agreement without China and India,' Merkel said through a translator. 'But I'm convinced, once we in Europe and America show ourselves ready to adopt binding agreements, we will also be able to persuade China and India to join in.'

Congress invited Merkel to speak before Congress to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall, which took place on November 9, 1989, but she had vowed she would also use the occasion to push for action on climate change, which has been a cornerstone of her international diplomacy.

Merkel received several rounds of applause during her address that also mentioned Iran, the Middle East peace process and the ongoing fight in Afghanistan. Merkel devoted the first part of her speech to reflecting on the US support for Germany since World War II that contributed to the Wall's collapse and the subsequent reunification of the country.

'We Germans know how much we owe to you, our American friends, and we shall never - I personally shall never - ever forget this,' she said.

Merkel met with Obama as his administration conducts a review of the strategy in Afghanistan, where situation has dramatically worsened in the last two years and public support in both countries for the war has fallen.

Merkel told Congress that she remains committed to Afghanistan and pointed out that Germany's contribution of soldiers to the NATO-led mission is the third largest of any country. She also said Berlin will work closely with the government of President Hamid Karzai, whose re-election was confirmed on Monday.

'The international community's mission in Afghanistan is without any doubt a tough one,' she said. 'It demands a lot from all of us. And it now needs to be transferred to the next phase, as soon as the new Afghan government is in office.'

The German chancellor also warned Iran that it could face 'tough' new sanctions if it does not take steps to alleviate Western concerns about its atomic activities, saying there would be 'zero tolerance' for a nuclear armed Iran.

'Zero tolerance needs to be shown when there is a risk of weapons of mass destruction falling, for example, into the hands of Iran and threatening our security,' she said.

There will not be unlimited patience with Iran in the ongoing negotiations to persuade Tehran to come clean about its nuclear work, said said, denouncing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for trivializing the Holocaust and rejecting Israel's right to exist.

'A nuclear bomb in the hands of an Iranian president who denies the Holocaust, threatens Israel and denies Israel the right to exist is not acceptable,' she said. 'Whoever threatens Israel also threatens us.'

During the meeting at the White House, Obama praised Merkel for her leadership in Europe and on global warming.

'Chancellor Merkel has been an extraordinary leader on the issue of climate change,' Obama said. 'And the United States, Germany and countries around the world I think are all beginning to recognize why it is so important that we work in common in order to stem the potential catastrophe' of climate change.

Climate change was expected to be high on the agenda later Tuesday when Obama hosts the EU-US summit.