As of: January 18, 2024, 7:09 p.m
By: Robert Wallenhauer
Comments
Press
Split
The CO₂ price for refueling and heating with fossil fuels is rising.
Climate money should come as compensation - but no longer in this legislative period.
This is met with harsh criticism.
Berlin - The introduction of climate money to relieve citizens of rising CO₂ prices is becoming increasingly distant.
The government originally wanted to introduce the CO₂ price during this legislative period.
But this goal will probably not be achieved.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) told the
Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung (NOZ)
last weekend:
He does not expect the climate money to be paid out in this legislative period.
“From 2025 we can technically make a per capita payment.
So we are on schedule.
Whether we politically restructure the funding landscape in this direction will have to be decided after the next election.” The federal government recently said that the climate money should be available until 2027.
The next federal election will take place in 2025.
So far, some politicians, economists and consumer advocates have called for climate money to be paid out quickly in order to compensate for the increase in CO₂ prices for consumers at the beginning of the year.
This makes refueling and heating more expensive.
That's why the traffic light decision is now being criticized.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP): Climate money should not come until the next legislative period.
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
Climate activists criticize Lindner: postponing climate money is “extremely dangerous”
“Climate money was probably never really popular with Christian Lindner, otherwise it probably wouldn’t take an entire legislative period until just the payment mechanism was introduced,” says Leonard Burtscher, consultant for energy and climate policy at the Munich Environmental Institute.
“The coalition agreement of the traffic light coalition actually stipulates that the income from the CO₂ price that has been levied since 2021 will be reimbursed directly by the state to all citizens,” said Burtscher.
However, the traffic light government is using the income to plug budget holes.
“Such misappropriation of the CO₂ price is extremely dangerous, as it plays into the hands of those who only want to present climate protection as a burden for citizens.”
In fact, Finance Minister Lindner also justified the delay in climate money with the budget: “At the moment, the income is being used to promote heating, building renovations, green steel production, charging stations for electric cars and so on,” he told the
NOZ
: You can use the money don't spend twice.
In addition, the federal government has said so far that the technical requirements for a direct payment to citizens do not yet exist.
Consumer advocates: Postponing climate money “is not acceptable”
Consumer advocates also clearly criticize the delay.
“The announcement by the Federal Minister of Finance that climate money would only come after 2025 is not acceptable!” said the board member of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, Ramona Pop, in an interview with the
NOZ
.
The federal government must reimburse billions of euros in revenue from the CO₂ price to all consumers “as quickly as possible” using this instrument.
My news
Pensions, citizens' money and migration: The new Habeck plan is intended to save the German economy
Important post for all pensioners: Read what the new letter from the pension insurance means
Traffic light waters down citizens' money sanctions for those who refuse to work: Greens cheer read
New plan for the pension: Habeck wants to pay pensioners more money read
Geywitz doesn't want to see the new housing construction study on TV: "The colleagues came up with it" read
Ex-head of the pension insurance criticizes the pension policy of the last few years: read “Social assistance de luxe”.
“The climate money was agreed in the coalition agreement as social compensation for additional burdens and as an incentive for climate-friendly behavior,” Pop continued.
“Such compensation via climate money cannot be put off for a long time.” According to calculations by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, citizens should currently receive a one-off climate money payment of 139 euros per person.
This would mean that the federal government would pay out the additional revenue from CO₂ pricing (11.4 billion euros) in full to the population for the years 2021 to 2023.
Greens react indignantly to shift in climate money
The Green Youth reacted indignantly to Lindner's statements on Monday (January 15).
“The fact that Christian Lindner is burying the climate money for this legislature as a side note is a slap in the face for climate protection,” said the co-head of the Greens youth organization, Svenja Appuhn, to the German Press Agency.
“Anyone who so carelessly gives up on the urgently needed social balance is wasting majorities for climate protection and risking people being driven into the arms of the right-wing.”
From the perspective of the FDP parliamentary group, the climate money can be paid out from 2025, “if subsidies in the climate and transformation fund are eliminated, which in any case only make little progress in climate protection,” as parliamentary group vice-president Lukas Köhler said.
It is therefore sensible that Minister Lindner “does not build financial castles in the air with money that has already been earmarked for other purposes by the Minister of Economic Affairs”.
(with material from dpa and epd)