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30 years - A Planet Is Saved. A chance for Man, Nature, Technology

In 1992, more than 30 years ago, Friedbert Pflüger published the book A Planet is Saved: A Chance for Man, Nature, Technology. Published by Econ-Verlag, the book was presented at the Bonn Press Club by Joschka Fischer and Klaus Töpfer. Two years later, a paperback edition was published. With the book, Pflüger was a pioneer in German politics at the time, but especially - together with Klaus Töpfer - in his own party, the CDU.  

Joschka Fischer and Klaus Töpfer present Pflüger's book at the Presseclub in Bonn. 

Here is the blurb from the time of publication: 

 Sixteen years ago, a book by politician Herbert Gruhl changed political thinking in Germany. His bestseller "A Planet is Being Plundered" warned of the impending environmental catastrophe. The green movement was born. Criticism of prosperity and growth, calls for people to stop consuming, campaigns against new technologies have shaped many discussions since then. Can the end of the world still be averted in view of global warming and the dying rainforests, the hole in the ozone layer, polluted oceans and the population explosion? 

A politician of the younger generation, Friedbert Pflüger, ‘bearer of hope’ for his party (Süddeutsche Zeitung), believes that there is an alternative: "It is a dangerous illusion to wait for a new mankind or a new global ethos of renunciation. Ecology has no chance if it denies people's natural striving for prosperity." Not against, only with modern technology and free economy can we succeed in securing our survival.  

The green consciousness revolution has already begun: 

  • Greens and environmentalists are becoming more realistic. 
  • Business recognizes the number one growth market, environmental protection. 
  • Technological progress is being implemented at an accelerated pace, as Pflüger shows with numerous examples. 
  • From politics, he demands a regulatory framework for unleashing free-market forces in the service of the public. 

In the last chapter of the book, Pflüger sums up the results of the International Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro (June 3-14, 1992). Rio was not yet the great breakthrough, but the conference is encouraging, it was a significant step in the right direction, ‘the starting signal to save the earth.’ 

 Dr. Friedbert Pflüger, M.A., was a close associate of German President Richard v. Weizsäcker from 1981-1989 (his book "Richard v. Weizsäcker" was published in 1989), then managing director in an international financing company - responsible, among other things, for environmental projects. Pflüger is a member of the board of trustees of the tropical forest foundation ‘Oro Verde’ and a supporting member of ‘Greenpeace.’ As a CDU member of parliament, he is involved in environmental policy." 

With the founding of the Clean Energy Forum (CEF), Pflüger has come full circle after three decades. The topic has become even more topical and urgent since then - but the basic message remains. 

Pflüger gives - at the 150th Energy Talk at the Reichstag in October 2022 - his book, written exactly thirty years ago, to the Minister of Climate and Economics Robert Habeck.