Germany's environment minister says the government should fall if coalition parties can't agree on measures to reduce damaging emissions. The country is one of the world's top producers of greenhouse gases.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Patrick Pleul
Advertisement
Environment Minister Svenja Schulze of the Social Democrats (SPD) has told an online news outlet that Germany's grand coalition should fall if ministers fail to agree on climate measures.
"The coalition cannot continue when it is not prepared to clarify without hesitation how Germany will achieve its climate goals by 2030," Schulze said of the power-sharing arrangement, in which the SPD supports Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and their Bavarian allies in the Christian Social Union.
"If we, as a nation of industry, cannot demonstrate how to do it, we cannot expect that other countries will join. It is about the credibility of this government," she said in the interview, published Saturday in the online edition of the Tagesspiegel newspaper.
At the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, Germany and 195 other countries agreed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Parties will meet at a UN summit on September 23 in New York ahead of the December conference in Chile.
On September 20, shortly before the UN summit, Germany's "climate cabinet" will propose a series of measures to minimize the worst effects of global warming.
Germany has consistently ranked in the world's top 10 producers of greenhouse gases. Schulze told the newspaper that Germany's government could not go to New York without making progress on the country's plans to reduce emissions. "There are still two weeks of really hard work," Schulze said.
"For this government and future ones, we need a mechanism to annually review Germany's progress on reducing greenhouse gases," she said.
Schulze told the newspaper that it was time for the government to treat fighting climate change as mandatory. She said the burning of oils must become more expensive now in the interests of future generations. However, she also indicated that she was willing to make compromises on her proposal for a carbon tax on fuels and heating oils.
"A CO2 price cannot be too high in the beginning, and it should continually, but not too rapidly increase," Schulze told the newspaper. "We need to ensure that normal wage earners and commuters from the countryside can still afford their cars." She added: "I am not stuck on a model. It is crucial that in the end a fair and socially balanced price for CO2 is arrived at."
Schulze told the newspaper that her proposed CO2 levy was only part of a larger package that involved laws and support programs as well. "Without bans and clear guidelines such as emissions limits," she said, "it won't work."
Who could take over as head of Germany's Social Democrats?
Andrea Nahles has resigned as leader of the Social Democrats after the party's poor performance in the European elections. Whoever takes the reins inherits a party in disarray. DW looks at the potential candidates.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Stephan Weil, premier of Lower Saxony
The 60-year-old leads a coalition of the SPD and the Christian Democrats in his northern state. In the Bundesrat — the council of Germany's 16 states and upper house of parliament — he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and is deputy chairman of the Committee on European Affairs. Many in the SPD have long seen him as a possible new hope to lead the party forward.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jaspersen
Manuela Schwesig, premier of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Schwesig, born and raised in the former East Germany, is the first woman to lead the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The 45-year-old previously served as minister of family affairs under Chancellor Angela Merkel, a role she used to push for equal opportunities for women and better state childcare facilities. She serves on the Bundesrat's Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Olaf Scholz, finance minister and vice chancellor
Scholz, 60, is seen by some of his fellow party members as a technocrat and is considered to belong to the SPD's conservative wing. As finance minister under Merkel, he has been committed to curbing public spending and keeping a lid on new debt. He also served as federal minister of labor and social affairs in Merkel's Cabinet from 2007 to 2009.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Malu Dreyer, premier of Rhineland-Palatinate
A reasonably popular figure in the SPD, Dreyer was voted in as deputy party chairwoman in 2017 with 97.5% backing. Despite repeatedly stating she would not want to leave her western state for Berlin, she is still seen as a possible replacement for Nahles. The 58-year-old has served as premier of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2013 and is the first woman to hold the office.
Image: Imago/J. Jeske
Rolf Mützenich
The 59-year-old Bundestag member from Cologne is one of the deputy chairs of the SPD's parliamentary group. In that role, he is responsible for foreign affairs, defense and human rights policy. He is well respected within the party and could be tapped as interim SPD leader in the Bundestag.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M.Kappeler
Achim Post, SPD leader in North Rhine-Westphalia
The 60-year-old sociologist leads the SPD in Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. He is a deputy chair of the SPD's parliamentary group, overseeing budgetary affairs, finance and Europe. As secretary-general of the Party of European Socialists, he is also considered well connected at the European level.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. v.Jutrczenka
Martin Schulz, ex-SPD leader
The former president of the European Parliament has been suggested as another possible challenger. The 63-year-old ran as the SPD's candidate for chancellor in 2017 but lost to Merkel. He subsequently stepped down as SPD leader. He has already said he doesn't want the job back, but Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported last week that he was keen to lead the SPD parliamentary group.
