How to Be Green: A Lesson from Germany

Those who have been following the US presidential election campaign will be familiar with Obama’s new slogan “Unite for Change”. What an inspiring message to send to the world. What a giddy hope is encompassed in those three words. With the converging crises of climate change, famine and economic collapse on every commentator’s lips, it seems the international community now finds itself at a critical crossroads. Sink or Swim. Now or Never. And what could be more necessary at this juncture than a bit of Obama optimism. Here in the UK attitudes are changing agonisingly slowly. It is considered enough for the Government to declare that the UK is on track to grudgingly reach its Kyoto target for the public to sleep easy at night. While the authorities and the public are battling over which is to take responsibility for the problem of climate change, British citizens could do worse than look to their pioneering European neighbours for a few lessons in being green. Take Germany for instance. With a strong Green Party and mature, responsible attitudes to environmental issues the Germans are leagues ahead in terms of re-educating the public to live more sustainable lives. After the G8 Summit in July of this year German Chancellor Angela Merkel placed responsibility for change squarely on the shoulders of the individual. “We must learn to think, live and make decisions at global level” she said.

Compare public transport in Berlin to that in any British city. The majority of commuters in Berlin cycle into work along the smooth and flat cycle lanes. They do so without fear of being run down by an enraged madman in a BMW, most do not even bother wearing a helmet. Those without bikes will walk an average of around 5 minutes in the city centre to their nearest U-Bahn (Underground), S-Bahn (overground train), Bus or Tram stop. On the platform the average waiting time is 2.5 minutes during weekdays and is guaranteed to be lower than 5 minutes. At weekends the public transport runs all night. It won’t break the bank either, with month tickets at 67 Euros for students. At Humboldt University in Berlin students pay 160 Euros included in their fees for a semester ticket valid on any form of transport in the whole of the 11,380sq miles of Brandenburg anytime for six months. With reliability, affordability, frequency and, dare I say it, efficiency such as this only around 20% of Berliners see the necessity of owning a car.