Greens' Baerbock calls for veto option on laws conflicting 1.5°C climate target

Green party leader Annalena Baerbock has said that a veto option must be created in government for laws that are in conflict with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. “Just as we check whether projects can be financed, we also need a binding climate check,” Baerbock said in an interview with news agency RND. Meeting the goal of the Paris Agreement is a responsibility of all three parties currently in talks to form a new government, the Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party and the Free Democrats (FDP) and a task that “cuts across all ministries”, she said. “It is not acceptable to close one's eyes when a ministry submits laws that deviate significantly from this.” During the election campaign, the Green Party already proposed the installment of a climate ministry with veto powers.

Last week, the Greens said the negotiating process could take longer than the planned deadline at the end of November, arguing that “key levers” in climate policy still had to be pulled. The three parties are knee-deep in negotiations for an agreement that will form the basis for a government coalition over the coming four years. In a preliminary agreement, the parties said their central task will be to bring Germany on a path in line with the target to limit global warming to 1.5°C.