WASHINGTON — German Chancellor Angela Merkel marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by exhorting the world in a speech to Congress on Tuesday to "tear down the walls of today" and reach a deal to combat global warming.
Frequently interrupted by robust applause, Merkel reiterated her country's commitment to fostering security in Afghanistan and also said that a nuclear bomb in the hands of Iran "is not acceptable."
In the first address by a German chancellor to Congress since Konrad Adenauer in 1957, Merkel put special emphasis on the need for a global agreement on climate change — one she said she hoped could be forged at an international conference next month in Copenhagen.
"We have no time to lose," she declared. Merkel said she recognized that no deal could be successful without the support of China and India — but that if a deal were struck, she said she was sure those two fast-growing economies could be persuaded to sign on.
"Today's generation needs to prove that it is able to meet the challenges of the 21st century, and that, in a sense, we are able to tear down walls of today," she said.
Merkel cited as clear proof of global warming icebergs that are melting in the Arctic, African people forced to flee their homelands because of drought and the rise in global sea levels.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Associated Press: Merkel calls for strong deal on climate change
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