Merkel Sets G8 Agenda

Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to the world's major industrial countries Thursday in a speech to Germany's parliament to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions and step up their participation in the fight against climate change.

"It is important that the G8 develops a common understand of how climate change can be tackled and what agreements can be made for the period beyond 2012," said Merkel, referring to the year when the Kyoto Protocol expires.

Merkel pessimistic about results

The chancellor added, however, that she didn't expect concrete results to be achieved during the meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized countries on June 6-8 in the northern German city of Heiligendamm.

"I can say quite openly that I don't know if we will succeed in that at Heiligendamm," said Merkel in her speech. "But for me it is clear that the big developed nations must take the lead on this issue if we are to have a change at fighting climate change."

Environmental Minister Sigmar Gabriel from the Social Democratic Party said earlier this week in an interview with German television broadcaster ZDF that said talks on climate change would be "super difficult" because of the position of the US. "We have to put the pressure on," he added.

Germany wants code of conduct

Chancellor Merkel on Thursday also named hedge-fund transparency as a priority on the G8 agenda. Hedge-funds are an aggressive and risky investment tool estimated to incorporate some 1.5 trillion dollars world-wide.

Transparency in the hedge-fund sector is "urgently necessary" to boost "confidence in the economy," said the chancellor, adding that Germany supports the development of an official code of conduct for the branch.

Resistance to regulations in the hedge-fund sector has come from the US and Britain, where most of the world's 9,000 hedge-funds are located.

The chancellor acknowledged that steps had been made at the meeting of G8 finance ministers last weekend in Potsdam, but, as with the climate change discussion, she also conceded that the negotiation process would need to be continued after the G8 summit.

Focus on Africa

Development aid for Africa would be another central discussion topic at the summit, said Merkel, affirming that the G8 countries would honor the promises for development aid increases that they had made at their 2005 summit.

"We will keep these promises," she said. "The time has come to implement and our credibility is at stake."

Merkel announced that the increase in development aid could be financed with the fees the state exacts from companies for disposing of contaminating waste.

Leaders from Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa have been invited to join the G8 member states as guests at the conference.

Merkel defends police action

In addition, Merkel addressed G8 protesters. Protest must be peaceful, she said, "those who resort to violence make dialogue impossible."

At the same time, the chancellor defended the security measures that have been implemented in Germany in the run-up to the summit. Police have recently come under fire for raiding the offices of left-wing groups and taking body scent samples to be used in the event of a crime.

Numerous parliamentarians have spoken out against the scent samples, making a comparison to the practices of the secret police in former East Germany.