Germany and the United States agree to stronger cooperation on environmental policy

Germany and the United States want to work more closely together on environmental issues in the future. Waste management and recycling are among the points agreed today by Federal Environment Secretary Stevie Lemke (Greens) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Michael S. Reagan.

The United States and Germany have a “long tradition of ambitious national and global environmental policy,” according to a statement signed today at the start of a meeting of G7 environment ministers von Lemke, Reagan and NBA president Dirk Meissner. As countries with large industrial economies, we face similar challenges when it comes to clean environment, nature conservation and public health issues.

“Today we want to deepen our cooperation in order to find answers to these challenges through the exchange of experiences and knowledge and through close consultation on important global environmental issues,” the three signatories said. In view of the common environmental challenges, bilateral cooperation and knowledge sharing are of great importance for solving problems. On environmental issues of critical importance and common interests, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America therefore wish to strengthen bilateral, regional and multilateral initiatives.

Waste management, sustainable land reclamation, circular economy, resource efficiency and marine litter control were also mentioned among the non-exhaustive list of topics to be covered by the cooperation. Other topics include water and sanitation quality, evaluation and treatment of chemicals, procurement, and implementation and enforcement of environmental legislation.

In the future, both countries wish to work together on a technical level, also through the exchange of information and experiences and, if necessary, through joint research and projects. In addition, current international processes and strategic issues of cooperation and research will be discussed at regular meetings.

“We are committed to improving the state of our environment and creating a just transition to a carbon-neutral economy that leaves no one behind, and we recognize that our bilateral and multilateral cooperation is essential to achieving these goals,” Reagan and Messner said. At the conclusion of the statement.