The festive event also addressed the milestones that had been reached and upcoming challenges, for instance what to do with nuclear waste.

Thirty years and more than 30 milestones, set down in national and international agreements and protocols, are what make up the Federal Environment Ministry's balance to date. Established in 1986 in response to the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, the Ministry has gone from damage limitation to forging the future.

Angela Merkel was Environment Minister from 1994 to 1998. As head of the Federal Government and a former federal minister she herself knows what it means to fight for climate protection. "There are high points and phases in which there is work to be done. And we're currently in one of those work phases," said Merkel at the ceremony to mark the Environment Ministry's 30th birthday.

From Kyoto to Paris: the path is the goal

One high point was the international climate agreement reached nearly six months ago in Paris, said Merkel. The Chancellor called it an important milestone and particularly thanked those involved in the negotiations. They had needed staying power and perseverance, she remarked. "Remembering Copenhagen, and I was there, where nothing was accomplished, then we know what was achieved in Paris," Angela Merkel said in an interview with Dunja Hayali during the event. "A high point like that can sustain you for quite a while," she added.

There is a great deal to be done during the current work phase:

• First, industrial nations have to live up to their exemplary function by delivering the technology and the innovations and themselves setting an example.
• Second, emerging economies and developing countries need assistance, which is why technology transfer is so important.
• Third, developing countries in particular need to be able to rely on funds pledged actually being paid out.

Reducing CO₂ emissions - tonne by tonne

Chancellor Merkel expressed the hope that Germany would achieve its ambitious national climate goals. To begin with things had moved quickly as a result of German reunification. "Now, though, we have to work hard to reduce CO₂ emissions, tonne by tonne." Ecological and social measures always had to go hand in hand. "If you go to the Lausitz region, for instance, people ask what will become of their jobs," the Chancellor said.

In December 2015 the international community arrived at the Paris Agreement on reducing climate change. It is the first treaty that all the countries were able to agree on. The most important goal it sets out is that global warming is to be limited to two degrees Celsius.

Climate change: a cause of displacement

Since time immemorial people had noted that the world's climate was changing, the Chancellor remarked. It was a fact, she said, that this process was gathering pace. "We should take that fact seriously." Climate change, one of the causes of refugee movements, was an international issue, Merkel stated. "But the question is this: Are we doing enough and are we doing the right thing?"

Over-exploitation of natural resources was, Angela Merkel said, leading to the loss of the bases of human nutrition. Climate adaptation was therefore a pressing issue that development work would have to focus on in future.

Environmental and climate action milestones

Numerous milestones have been reached since the Environment Ministry was founded, ranging from the Waste Ordinance to the hole in the ozone layer.

The phase-out of nuclear power has by no means been completed, former Environment Ministers Sigmar Gabriel, Norbert Röttgen and Peter Altmeier stressed. The issue of what to do with Germany's nuclear waste, for example, has not yet been resolved.

Klaus Töpfer and Jürgen Trittin, both former Environment Ministers, discussed clean natural waters, waste separation and the need to give nature more space, for instance, with the current Minister, Barbara Hendricks. They all agreed that there had been a sea change over the past 30 years as far as social awareness of environmental policy was concerned. They also concurred that the Environment Ministry was today tasked with implementing farsighted policies.

Thinking globally, acting nationally

In her speech Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks thanked those who initiated the environmental movement: "You made the awareness that we need to protect our environment a political issue," she said.

Hendricks noted that without international cooperation it would be impossible to achieve sustainable successes in terms of either climate or environmental protection: "We must build bridges so that we can work together as an international community to develop common answers. Today, environmental policy can only succeed if it is implemented at the international level."

The fight against hunger and war, against flight and displacement can also only be won, Hendricks stated, if we work together to overcome the ecological crisis.

Up until 1986 environmental protection was part of the remit of various ministries. Then came the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. Since then, core competencies in regard to the environment, climate action and nature protection, as well as nuclear safety have been concentrated in the Federal Environment Ministry. In 2013 the policy areas of building and urban planning were added to the Ministry's remit.

Protecting the environment makes economic sense

Environmental protection makes economic sense, too, the Environment Minister said. It was because Germany had such high environmental standards that it was one of the world's leading economies. "We need our economy to respect the limits set by the natural bases for our life."

Wealthy industrial nations, Germany in particular, should lead the way, Hendricks remarked. Environmental protection is a driver of jobs, providing work to two million people. Germany produces nearly two thirds of its power from renewable sources, she said. "Green" products "Made in Germany" make up a global market share of over 14 per cent, the Minister added.

The Environment Minister summed up her ministry's achievements over the past 30 years: "The message today is that we have already achieved a great deal. But there's still a lot to be done. It is up to us to give direction to progress."