Germany’s plan against climate change meets with rejection from environmentalists

More than 15 hours of uninterrupted negotiation later, the parties of the German grand coalition government came out on Friday to present a multimillion-dollar plan to deal with climate change and comply with international commitments to reduce polluting gases. With the streets of Germany taken over by protesters calling for climate action now, conservatives and social democrats put on the table a plan of 70 measures and 54,000 million euros, to be spent until 2023, which was met with criticism from environmentalists.

The climate package had been negotiated for months, but it has taken one last blank night to iron out the differences between the partners of the government coalition, which finally announced the agreement in extremis on Friday. The aim of the new measures is to achieve a 55% reduction in CO emissions by 2030₂ (compared to 1990 levels), agreed within the European Union, after Germany, the sixth country in the world with the most CO₂ spits into the atmosphere, has acknowledged that it will fail to comply with the 40% reduction agreed for 2020.

“There is a lot of evidence from the scientific world, and whoever tries to ignore it does not act with justice towards the future,” said Merkel, visibly exhausted after the marathon day of negotiation. The foreign minister assured that the implementation of this great plan to fight against climate change will not mean a budgetary indebtedness for her country. Environmental organizations yesterday criticized the initiative of the German government, which they consider insufficient and ineffective.

The text of the agreement states that “support for research and development and market incentives will help Germany expand its position as an innovation provider and lead the market in climate technologies.” The idea is to green made in Germany, the largest European power, focused on exports and whose economy is bordering on recession due in part to the weakening of foreign demand. A poll published yesterday by public television ARD indicated that 63% of Germans give higher priority to the environment than to economic growth.

Putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions from the source, i.e. forcing fuel producers and sellers to buy emission certificates, is one of the main points of the programme. The Government will do so from 2021, establishing a system for the transport and heating sectors, exempt from EU emissions trading (ETS), and to which it will initially apply a fixed price of 10 euros per tonne of CO₂, as contemplated by the text of the agreement that occupies 22 pages. That price will rise until 2026, when a true emissions trading system will operate for German sectors. The revenue collected will be one of the sources of funding for the 70 measures.

There are new legal requirements, financing, incentives and appraisals that will affect, among other sectors, transport, agriculture or housing. The plan envisages, for example, a reduction in the price of the train and an increase in domestic flights. Rates for the most polluting vehicles will be raised, while electric vehicles will be encouraged and a charging network will be installed throughout the country. In addition, the reform of homes will be promoted so that they consume less energy and the end of diesel in heating will be set from 2026.

Environmental organizations criticized, however, the government’s plans for considering that they will not achieve the goal of reducing emissions. Oliver Krischer, a Green Party MP, called the price set for _CO2 “a joke” and criticized the agreement on Twitter in general because he believes it does not solve the current shortcomings of the renewables program and does not reduce incentives for fossil fuels. Accelerating the elimination of coal – 2030 instead of the planned 2038 – that within six years all cars sold will be electric or a profound revision of agricultural policy that involves reducing meat production are the priorities for Greenpeace.

Die Linke, the party to the left of social democracy, criticized the package as “unsocial and inefficient” and for understanding that it will place a disproportionate economic burden on lower incomes.

Much of the German press was also not impressed by the climate package, which it considered insufficient to achieve the objectives set. “The government has squandered a great opportunity,” read the head of the digital edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. From the Federation of German Industry (BDI) considered that the plan “is not a huge step”, but it does “contain important decisions for efficient climate protection”.

The Vice Chancellor: “We strengthen jobs”

The Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance, Olaf Scholz, said yesterday that in the face of fear of a negative impact on the economy “we are securing jobs.” In this way, he justified the multimillion-dollar package of measures announced for the fight for the climate. “We use climate change as an opportunity to modernize our economy and create new and promising jobs,” said Scholz, who also acknowledged that the plan is a response to the protests of new generations.

“Fridays for Future has shaken us all,” acknowledged the vice chancellor, who aspires to chair the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which for months has been surpassed in voting intention in the polls by the Greens, the German environmental party, which grows like foam.

Government parties, however, are concerned that the measures will end up penalizing those who have the least and further polarizing a society very concerned about climate change. Merkel is playing with this package her legacy as climate chancellor, two days before the climate summit that the UN will hold in New York.

Source: The Country