“Just climate rhetoric”

The federal government’s “climate rhetoric” runs contrary to recent plans and regulatory reforms, writes Joachim Wille in an opinion piece for Frankfurter Rundschau. Cabinet decided on a draft law to ratify the Paris Climate Agreement and Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasised the importance if climate targets at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. But the reform of the Renewable Energy Act will slow down the energy transition and endanger Paris’ 1.5-degree target, writes Wille. Meanwhile, environment minister Barbara Hendricks' once-ambitious Climate Action Plan 2050 is being torn apart by the economy, transport and agriculture ministries, meaning the final draft slated for September “won’t be much more than climate rhetoric,” writes Wille.

Read the opinion piece in German here.