CDU politician Heinrich Strossenreuther: "The Greens refuse to take part in the real climate fight"

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CDU politician Heinrich Strossenreuther

Photo: Britta Pedersen / picture alliance / dpa

Normally the debate goes like this: The Greens are pushing for stricter climate protection measures, only to be branded by the Union as a prohibition party.

But now, of all people, a CDU politician is accusing the Greens of not going far enough to meet the climate targets set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

It is "unfortunately part of the DNA of the Greens that they refuse to take part in the real climate fight on a Paris-compliant level and prefer to remain little vulnerable," said KlimaUnion boss Heinrich Strossenreuther to SPIEGEL.

In the debate about the CO2 price, the Greens "let themselves be driven through the arena instead of telling people clearly that they will have to drive more fuel-efficiently in future."

The Greens are also not clearly in favor of the goal of climate neutrality by 2035.

Strossenreuther was once a member of the Greens and has been an environmental activist for many years. In the spring, he and others founded the Climate Union in the CDU, which internally advocates a much stricter climate policy. The group quickly gained influence among the Christian Democrats. Wiebke Winter, who is also a member, is now part of the narrow campaign team around Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet.

Strossenreuther takes the view that the Greens would have to pull the competition with them, so to speak.

In Germany, the Greens are still "still the benchmark in terms of climate policy," said Strossenreuther.

"If they do not go ahead, the climate-political competition over a more ambitious, Paris-compliant policy will wane." Climate politicians in the other parties would then have a harder time "promoting" a corresponding policy "there and with their voters".

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