British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett urged Germany on Tuesday to use its upcoming leadership of both the European Union and Group of Eight to press forward with efforts to battle climate change, reported AP. Berlin takes over the EU and G-8 presidencies on Jan. 1. The rotating EU presidency lasts six months, while the G-8 leadership lasts for a year. «What you do right here, right now, during your dual presidencies in the next six and 12 months is pivotal,» Beckett said in speech at the British Embassy to an audience that included German officials. She identified the promotion of clean coal-burning technology and the preservation of the world's rain forests as key points. «There is no point in us sitting down to discuss what we are going to do in five or 10 years down the line _ it will already be too late,» Beckett said. «It will be up to you whether Europe delivers ... it will be up to you whether the G-8 can galvanize broader global action,» she said. «We will support you.» Beckett was to meet later Tuesday with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
