Germany has long claimed a leadership role on climate change. Germany was one of the first countries to fulfill its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. In 2009, its greenhouse gas emissions were 28% below 1990 levels. Germany has reaffirmed its commitment to achieve a 40% reduction by 2020, regardless of what other countries may or may not do.

The people of the country are convinced that the transformation to a low carbon economy is in their national interest. That is why, after Copenhagen, Germany wants to go ahead with strong climate policies and not wait for others.

To understand the role of Germany's states in setting climate policy, an understanding is needed of what happens on the national and the European level. In Europe, the European Emission Trading Scheme sets a cap for carbon emissions from power plants, industry and, beginning in 2012, air traffic. Also, there are European car efficiency standards and the European Energy Efficiency Directive that requires member states to lower their total energy consumption (by 9% until 2017).

On the national level, the most successful climate policy was the feed-in tariff created for renewable sources of energy. As a result of this policy, electricity generation from renewable sources has tripled since 2000. Renewables now have a market share of 16%, and have created 280,000 jobs; their growth has continued even during the economic crisis. Other national policies to combat climate change are - Germany's eco-taxes that have helped limit fuel consumption, and a massive home insulation program.

So what role does that leave to the states? Let us take the example of the biggest state in Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia. The state is Germany's industrial center and has the highest concentration of power plants anywhere in Europe.

To transform its energy sector, North Rhine-Westphalia launched its own Renewable Energy Initiative in addition to the national policy. This program has already resulted in more than 50,000 projects, 3 billion Euros in investments, and a reduction of CO2 emissions by 2 million tons a year. Part of the initiative was a program to build 50 Solar Housing Estates, half of which have already been completed.

Another state program was designed to help small and medium size companies save resources, energy and money. Energy consultants paid by the state worked together with businesses to identify profitable investments in energy efficiency and conservation. To this day, more than 1,000 companies have participated, saving a lot of CO2 and money.

In the field of waste management, North-Rhine Westphalia was among the first to stop the landfilling of untreated municipal waste. This example led to a nationwide ban of the practice that has cut Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions by 27 million tons of CO2-equivalent a year.

On the international scene, North Rhine-Westphalia was a founding member of the network of regions 'Energy for Sustainable Development', launched in Johannesburg in 2002. The state is also proud to host the secretariat of the UNFCCC and the technology center of IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency).

The next big challenge for state climate policy will be to prevent the construction of new coal-fired power plants. At the moment, 25 such plants are being built or planned in Germany, almost half of them in North Rhine-Westphalia. The state should use all of its legal powers to stop these extremely harmful projects. More than 10 coal-fired power plants have already been thwarted by local opposition.

To sum it up, Germany's climate policy is set mainly on the European and national level. But, a lot can be done by states like North Rhine-Westphalia. After Copenhagen, it is all the more important for the states to step up and lead by example.

Let us not wait for a global breakthrough, and for national governments to act. Let us start to do what we can do - in our communities and in our states.