Merkel aims for balanced budget in fight against climate change

German Chancellor Angela Merkel "stands by the objective of a balanced budget", her spokesperson, Steffen Seibert, said at a government press conference. His comments came after a number of MPs from Germany's governing parties brought up the question of whether Germany should take on new public debt in order to fight climate change. Germany has "had balanced budgets in recent years and will continue to strive for them”, Seibert added. German finance minister Olaf Scholz has similarly said necessary measures for climate protection could be taken "without incurring new debts", according to Spiegel Online.

Some Social Democrats have suggested that Germany might need to take on new public debt to finance the climate action measures necessary to bring the country back on course to reaching its targets. Commentators have said that a climate cabinet meeting on 20 September, for which the government has promised key policy decisions, could mark the day the country breaks with its longstanding paradigm of a balanced budget.