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Climate protection: Federal Council approves grand coalition climate package

2019-12-20T11:17:46.943Z


Higher CO2 price, an increase in the commuter fee, cheaper train tickets: After the agreement in the Conciliation Committee, the Federal Council approved the climate package.



The CO2 price of EUR 25 per tonne is to come into force in January 2021, while the commuter allowance is to be increased at the same time. The Federal Council decided that. These two changes are at the heart of the compromise that the Conciliation Committee decided on Monday night.

This also passed a law for a tax bonus for the energetic renovation of buildings and the planned reduction in VAT on the railways.

The CO2 price of 25 euros a ton that has now been adopted is intended to increase the cost of fossil fuels and fuels such as gas, oil and coal so that citizens and industry can rely on more climate-friendly technologies. In return, billions in relief for the electricity price and an increase in the commuter allowance are planned.

The Federal Council vetoed tax plans from the federal government's climate package and called the mediation committee. The federal states wanted compensation for tax losses. Green-co-governed countries, especially Baden-Württemberg, had opposed the increase in the commuter fee at an originally planned CO2 price of 10 euros.

Citizens should rely on green technologies

The heads of government of the federal states emphasized that measures for more climate protection need the acceptance of the citizens. Politicians do not want to dictate how they live, but take them with them, said Hesse's Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) in the Federal Council. It is about a policy of "measure and middle". The climate package is very important and is a fundamental step. Necessary changes, however, need acceptance among the population.

The Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, (SPD), said the climate package had improved in the Conciliation Committee. There is more climate protection and more social compensation for the citizens. It is the responsibility of politics not just to burden citizens, but to create real ecological alternatives.

Climate protection as an opportunity

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) said: "We are fundamentally changing the way we do business." Germany had to make great strides in climate protection. Large and far-reaching decisions had been made. The state is returning billions of dollars of income to citizens through the proposed CO2 price. Citizens should not see climate protection as a threat, but as an opportunity.


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Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2019-12-20

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