That was foreseeable: the coalition compromise on climate protection did not really bring peace to the traffic light. The Greens and the FDP continue to insist.
Even after the latest coalition committee with its compromises on climate protection, there is a crunch between the traffic light partners SPD, Greens and FDP.
The Greens are dissatisfied with the results. The co-chair Ricarda Lang is the climate course not ambitious enough. “We are a government that is leading the way in climate protection – but not always as quickly as I would like. We need more speed overall,” Lang told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
In the coalition committee, the SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed on a 16-page paper that, among other things, provides for the accelerated expansion of the motorways at 144 points, billions in investments in the rail network and a relaxation of climate protection rules.
Lang is now relying on the federal states to expand the motorway, which the FDP has been pushing for and which the Greens would have preferred to prevent. It is “very likely” that not all of these 144 projects will ultimately be built at an accelerated rate, said Lang. Planning will “only be accelerated if the responsible countries say: We want that.” The Greens are involved in twelve state governments and have veto options there. At the same time, Lang spoke out again in favor of a speed limit on motorways to protect the climate, a measure that the FDP rejects.
The Greens parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Britta Hasselmann, was also disappointed. “Despite the worsening climate crisis, there is obviously only one coalition partner who wants more when it comes to climate protection,” she told the editorial network Germany.
Djir-Sarai: “Take citizens along the way”
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai contradicted Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) because of his criticism that the agreed measures in the transport sector for which the FDP is responsible were not sufficient. “The agreements of the coalition committee on climate protection policy are a paradigm shift for Germany: the climate protection law will be transferred from the planned economy to the market economy,” said Djir-Sarai of the German Press Agency. Instead of unrealistic annual targets for individual sectors, the cross-sector target of climate neutrality from 2045 will count in future.
“This goal can only be achieved – also in the transport sector – if the citizens are taken along on the way there. Climate protection can only succeed with the people, not against them,” said Djir-Sarai. “Mr. Habeck should finally understand that too. Anything else leads to a further division in society.” And: “The climate minister Habeck should stop looking for scapegoats. With all personal appreciation, a leader should not behave like that.”
Environmental organizations support Habeck
Habeck received support from environmental organizations. “It is obvious that the results of the coalition committee make it even more difficult to achieve the climate protection goals in transport,” said Benjamin Stephan, Greenpeace mobility expert, the dpa in Berlin. “That is the sad success of the obstinate blockade of the FDP, an SPD, which in case of doubt then stands up against the climate and for an old technology like the combustion engine and more motorways, as well as a Green Party, which could not defend itself against this superior power or wanted.”
The coalition’s resolutions are apparently not well received by Green voters. In the ZDF “Politbarometer”, which was published on Friday, the value for the Greens fell by two points to 17 percent. In return, the FDP gained two points to 7 percent in the survey conducted from Tuesday to Thursday.
The SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil warned against a division of society through climate protection measures. “Climate protection must not be an elite project for people with money,” he told the newspapers of the Bayern media group (Saturday). Therefore, ambitious climate protection also includes social balance. “People in metropolitan areas also have to be careful not to turn up their noses at those in rural areas when they drive.” Where he comes from, there is no alternative to the car. “And that’s the reality for a lot of people in Germany. As the SPD, we don’t allow town to be played off against the country,” emphasized Klingbeil.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
