In the debate in the Bundestag: The German climate policy is the UN conference in Poland at a crossroads – because of the coal. Also populists threaten measures against global warming.
In a good mood, the German environment Minister, Svenja Schulze (SPD), presented on Thursday in the Bundestag. It would not be surprising if it was different. Next Monday, the Minister at the start of the UN climate change conference moves to Katowice in Poland. There, you will need to ask some critical questions, especially of the poorer of the 190 UN member States, because of the earlier climate-pioneer Germany is weakening: The ambitious target of 40 per cent in greenhouse gases by 2020 to save, missed the government.
Differently than planned, the Minister can call also no date of when Germany, the climate-damaging brown coal adjusts production. The competent expert Commission is simply not become in time finished the work.
“The government has stumbled when it comes to climate” – Green party leader, Anton Hofreiter
In January, when Germany withdraws from the brown coal: in a good ten years or much later? The Chairman of the group of the Greens, Anton Hofreiter, summarizes the in Parliament: “This government has verstolpert the way to this climate change conference clean.”
Schulze: climate change in Germany too noticeable
Schulze is still nothing to say. She notes again how tangible the effects of climate change around the world: “In the past few weeks, in the Wake of forest fires, whole towns in California are burned to the ground. The severe weather in Italy these days have resulted in several deaths. In Germany we have the drought-the summer behind us. And also with us, the forests are under pressure.”
As bad as never: forest fires in Brandenburg in the summer of 2018
Bad news from Brazil
The debate in the Bundestag will be held on a day on which weather organization of the United Nations is once again an urgent appeal to the States: at the moment, it does not create the humanity, the greenhouse effect really contain. If the Trend is set to continue, threatening temperature increases by three to five degrees Celsius by the end of the century compared to today. Experts had called for a limit on a maximum of two degrees, or better yet, just 1.5 degrees.
On the same day, another message of how unpopular the fight against the greenhouse gases in many countries of the world at the time shows. The new nationalist government of Brazil has announced: it is different than the climate conference of the UN in the next year is not meant to be: Not in the mood for climate protection in the Amazon country. A bad Signal for the conference in Katowice.
Higher emissions than China and India – per capita
With the exception of the right-wing populists of the “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) in the German Bundestag, after all, a consensus: climate change must be tackled urgently. However, the views, how to make the best, far. The Minister emphasized that in spite of all the efforts to bring Renewable energies in Germany, the emissions are still too high: “Germany is in absolute Numbers, the world’s sixth largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Also in the case of the Per-capita emissions, Germany is far in front, almost nine tonnes per year and, thus, in twelfth place, ahead of China and India,” says Schulze.
The climate and coal: brown coal power plant in Jänschwalde in Brandenburg, Germany
The all-important coal question
You can see it but also different. The FDP member Frank Sitta considers Germany to be for just 2,37 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases responsible: “We would change on climate change practically nothing, if we set the morning all economic activity. It is not helpful because, if you believe in it.”
Also representatives of the Greens have demanded that all economic activities, but the criticism is nevertheless to address to the Commission, which would regulate the phase-out of coal, especially the Green together with environmental groups for a rapid exit. Representatives of the East German länder lignite-Operated fear a massive loss of jobs and a rise of the right-wing populists as a result. The coal-question paralyzes the German climate policy, that’s what makes this debate again.
1.5 billion euros for climate projects
Also, the CSU is warning against ambitious national climate targets. The members of the Conservative, Anja Weisgerber, says: “to look at climate policy from the national glasses, that is our policy. The developing and emerging countries have set their own goals they want to achieve.”
“There is no evidence” – Karsten Hilse (AfD)
For these States, after all, Berlin wants to do now more: Germany doubles before the conference in Poland, its share of the green climate Fund, which is distributed under the umbrella of the United Nations funds to poorer countries, to 1.5 billion euros. It, development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) in the debate of pride. After all, something that can take the government to Poland.
The populists and the climate protection
The consensus of the majority of the members: right-wing populists, such as in Brazil, there are in the Bundestag. According to the AfD, the many thousands of climate scientists are wrong in the world: Although there is an increase in temperature, but man his production is not to blame, says the Deputy Karsten Hilse: “There is not a single scientific proof, nothing.”
With the populists, and keep nothing from the fight against the greenhouse gases, Minister Svenja Schulze confronted in Katowice: With the governments of Australia, Brazil or Italy, for example, little progress is currently possible, despite all the warnings of the scientists.