1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
PoliticsEurope

Germany's Climate Crisis: Why Politics Struggle To Keep Up

38:42

This browser does not support the video element.

August 21, 2026

Germany is heating and drying up faster than ever. Yet climate change is not high on the agenda of many politicians.  Together with sustainability researcher Maja Göpel and SPD climate spokesperson Jakob Blankenburg, DW’s Berlin Bureau Chief Max Hofmann examines the growing gap between climate reality and political action and asks: can Germany keep up with climate change? 

CHAPTER

00:00 – Why climate matters now 

03:03 – The politics of delay 

06:52 – Can technology deliver? 

10:42 – Economics of climate action 

13:05 – Transformation and resistance 

15:16 – Climate costs in fields 

17:02 – What governments achieved 

19:43 – Adaptation and transformation 

22:54 – The price of inaction 

24:24 – Making climate binding 

29:41 – Elections and climate policy 

33:47 – A message to Merz 

36:06 – Honesty in climate politics

 

You can listen to DW Berlin Briefing on 

Apple Podcasts: DW Berlin Briefing - Inside German politics 

Spotify: DW Berlin Briefing - Inside German politics 

Subscribe to the Berlin Briefing newsletter: Newsletter Registration 

For more news go to: News and current affairs from Germany and around the world 

Follow DW on social media:  
►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews/
►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dwnews
►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/ 
►Twitter: DW News (@dwnews) / X 

Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/dwdeutsch 

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish 

Skip next section Explore more
Skip next section About the show

About the show

DW Berlin Briefing

From the US elections, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to evolving European security dynamics, this video podcast explores how these events impact Germany and the wider region.

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW

More stories from DW