German sets ambitious climate target

Germany has issued the world's most ambitious climate target: a 40 per cent greenhouse gas emissions reduction from its 1990 levels by 2020.

One of the major goals of the Integrated Energy Climate Change Programme is to increase reliance on renewable energy sources from the current 12 per cent to between 25 and 30 per cent by 2010, while using existing resources more efficiently.

The plan includes key initiatives such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars and phasing out hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants. To improve home-heating efficiency and focus on sustainable heating, the government will provide subsidies of up to us $736 million annually for owners of old buildings to install environment-friendly heating systems. The package contains 14 separate laws and regulations to help German reach its targets.