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Cabinet decisions: Merkel defends climate action

2019-09-20T13:04:34.097Z


"We are not sustainable today": Chancellor Merkel has justified the government's climate protection measures. Germany will miss its 2020 targets - and wants to reach them by 2030.



Focus on climate crisis

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Reporting on climate change is one of the major journalistic challenges of our time. The climate crisis is also one of the most important issues of humanity for SPIEGEL. For this reason, we support an international initiative that seeks to take a look this week: "Covering Climate Now" has been initiated by the Columbia Journalism Review and the Canadian newspaper "The Nation", with more than 200 media companies worldwide including the Guardian, El País, La Repubblica, The Times of India, Bloomberg or Vanity Fair. SPIEGEL is dedicating the cover story of the current issue to the climate crisis this week and every day pays special attention to mirror.de

Angela Merkel has defended the Coalition's climate protection package. Especially in traffic and building insulation, there are many incentives for a more climate-friendly behavior of the citizens.

Germany will most likely miss the 2020 climate targets. For 2030, however, the goals are now to be achieved. "We are not sustainable today," said Merkel. "We did not achieve what we set out to do."

After hours of negotiations, the German government had previously agreed on a package of measures for better climate protection. This includes, among other things, to make gasoline and diesel more expensive, to raise the commuter tax and to prohibit the installation of new oil heaters from 2026. The coalition also wants to reduce CO2 emissions through a trade in pollution rights.

The climate package is also a reaction to the protest movement, said Finance Minister Olaf Scholz: "Fridays for Future has shaken us all." There is now a large package with a volume of 54 billion euros, which is also socially balanced.

CDU chief Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is satisfied: "The results can be seen in my view," she says at the press conference. The measures, which many environmentalists have already criticized as inadequate, are ambitious. The relief for citizens had been important to her. Despite the size of the program, sound fiscal policies remain possible.

Criticism of environmentalists

Also CSU boss Markus Söder praised the climate compromise. "The package bears the hallmark of reason and is at the same time a major step for Germany in terms of climate protection," he told the German Press Agency. "This is the golden mean, we protect the climate and strengthen the economy." In addition, the increase in the commuter commuter tax for long-distance commuters "the answer for rural areas" and the subsidy for new heating help just socially weaker, stressed the Bavarian Prime Minister. "From the point of view of the CSU and Bayern, I am satisfied."

The German environmental aid (DUH) criticized the plans of the climate package of the government sharply. "This is not a breakthrough, that is a failure across the board, what the Climate Cabinet has presented there," tweeted the environmental organization. The planned increase in the commuter allowance as a relief measure for citizens called the DUH absurd: "so you can expect it nicely".

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2019-09-20

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