German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, September 14, 2019 in a video posted online, that it would require a “feat of strength” in order for Germany to reach its climate goals by 2030 as planned.
“Climate change is a challenge for humanity.
“In order to deal with this challenge, it will require a real feat of strength,’’ Merkel said in the video posted on the chancellery’s official website.
Merkel said that passing climate legislation was necessary in order for the country to be able to achieve its goal of producing 65 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2030.
“And, we already see that climate change is a reality.
“In the last 50 years, storms, heatwaves and floods have tripled in Germany as well.’’
She said in 2018, Germany emitted twice as much CO2 as the global average.
“Of course, we don’t need to beat around the bush, protecting the climate costs money,’’ Merkel continued and said that she believed the price would be even higher if no action is taken.
On Friday, Germany’s coalition government made up of Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), their Bavarian sister party CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD) will present a package of climate measures that are designed to ensure that Germany fulfils its commitments to curbing climate change.
Merkel said that in considering what measures to take, the government had taken into account that “we need to act responsibly, economically, socially and acceptably so that everyone can afford these climate protection measures’’.
The German chancellor said they were looking into innovative measures and into putting a price on carbon emissions.
The state would give back the money taken in from such a CO2 tax by investing in climate neutrality.
