Stuttgart, March 21, 1995
"Ecological and transportation issues touch every aspect of our lives. We therefore recognize the need for a critical yet constructive dialog on the subject between government and business. This dialog is essential to the exploitation of present and future opportunities for environmental protection. And it is a prerequisite for the creation of guidelines that will protect our economy, our jobs, our business locations, and our mobility, while also improving the environment in the long term." These opening words set the theme for a joint declaration signed in the presence of the news media on Tuesday, March 21 in the state legislature in Stuttgart by Hermann Schaufler and Harald B. Schäfer, the secretaries of transportation and of environmental affairs, respectively, of the state Baden-Württemberg; by Matthias Kleinert, head of public relations and economic policy at Daimler-Benz AG; and by Professor Claus Razim, environmental officer of Mercedes-Benz AG.All participants expressed satisfaction that their intensive discussions had succeeded in defining and documenting a common approach, despite differences regarding some of the details. Especially in the context of the meeting of member states of the United Nations starting March 28 in Berlin, this is clear and significant evidence that, together, government and business can meet the great challenges in our future.
Transportation secretary Schaufler sees environmental protection as an integral part of his transportation policy. The new Transportation Master Plan spells out methods to make transportation safer for our environment. And business must help reduce the burden on our environment through innovations in automotive and transportation technologies. Says Schaufler: "The catalytic converter has given us a technology that allowed a marked reduction in pollutant emissions despite the increase in traffic. We'll do everything in our power to accelerate the penetration of this technology to all existing vehicles." In addition, there should be compulsory rules for a significant reduction in energy used by all means of transportation. A car capable of doing 100 kilometers on just 5 liters of fuel already exists, adds Schaufler, "Our common goal must be to actually have these environmentally friendly vehicles on our roads in large numbers soon." Marked reductions in emissions are also expected from the introduction of new traffic information and management systems, like those being tested jointly with industrial firms in Project STORM.
The environment minister, Harald B. Schäfer, calls this declaration "a small but noble attempt to make peace between our environment and our mobility." We must end the conflict between transportation and the environment, and foster harmony in its stead. That puts the burden plainly on transportation, because we don't know how to create a transportation-friendly environment. Our only choice is to make our transportation system environmentally friendlier. So we are entirely justified in fully exploiting all technical opportunities for conservation. But if we make conservation our only objective we would end up short of our real goal, because any environmental benefits of automotive improvements would be outweighed by the enormous increase in traffic.
According to Schäfer, reorganizing our transportation system holds the key. Each type of transportation must be given priority where it's best suited. This means public transit in metropolitan zones and environmentally-friendly automobiles in rural areas. As far as freight transportation is concerned, pride of place must be given to the railways, especially over long hauls. Unnecessary traffic must be avoided. Such an "ecology-compatible" organization of our transportation system, however, can only be achieved by profound and consistent changes in guidelines over the long term - not by clever oratory. And business must be able to count on long-term rewards, rather than penalties, from developing environmentally safer vehicles. For this reason, Schäfer considers environmentally targeted tax reform - including higher energy prices - as long overdue and indispensable for the industry. While such tax reform should be a European initiative, Germany might have to go it alone. "In the medium term, this could even give German business a substantial competitive advantage by allowing a timely conversion to advanced technology."
Matthias Kleinert emphasized the company's leading role: "Daimler-Benz continues to advance in the "dynamic triangle" defined by business, the environment, and technology. That's why we are willing to accept accountability for the environment, even on a global scale. But we need clear and consistent guidelines from our government, instead of narrowly focused approaches. Then our enterprise in particular will be able to shape a product line that will contribute to the enduring soundness of our transportation system and our environment." Kleinert, too, made reference to Projekt STORM. Such an integrated transportation system would enable Daimler-Benz to bring the most advanced transportation technology from Baden-Württemberg to the world.
Professor Razim noted: "What matters most in our dialog with environmental policy makers is that we agree on binding objectives concerning environmental quality. We are prepared to apply the most appropriate technology to each of these objectives. But establishing limits based on the 'pollutant of the week' merely detracts from our focus and interferes with the best use of our development resources."
The joint declaration identifies focal areas for further work: Improved environmental safety of transportation systems; improved synergy between the different transportation modes, with due regard to the advantages of each system; incentives for the use of improved technology and resource-conserving behavior. These approaches show great promise for reducing the burden on the ecology, for enhancing the qualify of our life, and for keeping Germany an attractive location for business.
The signatories agree that the exploration of new technologies and the further development of existing technologies are of decisive long-term importance in the creation of environmentally safe transportation devices and systems - but that they are in themselves not enough. Both in the economic and the environmental spheres, technological progress can support our objectives only if there are sound transportation, environmental, and energy policies in place. Even and especially in the area of transportation and the environment, an approach based on market principles is the right approach. In this context, the participants are prepared to engage in open and objective discussions about the opportunities and risks of environmentally targeted tax reform. Finally, all actions must support sustainable long-term development in pursuit of a sound environment, a strong economy, and a stable society.
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© 1995 Daimler-Benz