Germany’s climate cabinet is “sad declaration of bankruptcy” – opinion

Germany’s new climate cabinet is proof that policymakers can look ahead only as far ahead as the next election, and are unable to make decisions that might cause upset, Birgit Marschall writes in an op-ed for the Rheinische Post. The intragovernmental working group was a response to student demands for climate action, but is “nothing more than a sub-committee” created for want of any better ideas, Marschall writes. A few more electric busses and bicycle lanes won’t make a meaningful cut in emissions, she says, arguing that a price on CO2 is essential to ensure that both industry and consumers behave responsibly.

The German government installed the so-called 'climate cabinet' in the middle of March in a bid to improve coordination and progress on urgent climate-related policy areas, especially transport and heating. Chancellor Angela Merkel said the cabinet would ensure that Germany's much-anticipated Climate Action Law will be introduced still in 2019.