Climate activist Luisa Neubauer has called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) to take a firm stance on the climate crisis. Neubauer told the “Rheinische Post” (Friday edition) that Merz asserts a commitment to policy that serves the people. However, she criticized him, stating that his continued promotion of gas-fired power plants and the weakening of climate protection measures are exacerbating global warming.
Neubauer argued that Merz’s silence regarding the dangers of climate change and the economic costs arising from climate catastrophes leads people to feel a false sense of security. She insisted that given the dramatic warnings issued by scientists, the Chancellor must break his silence on the climate crisis.
The activist noted that what is shocking today is not merely the heat forecasts, but rather the widespread absence of political willingness to act.
Currently, a dome of heat is causing a heatwave across Europe, and heat records were set in British and French cities during May. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a heatwave that historically occurred only once every ten years before the Industrial Revolution is happening approximately 2.8 times within a ten-year period in the current climate. This trend is a direct result of human-induced climate change. The IPCC further warns that if global warming reaches 2 degrees Celsius, such a heatwave will occur in more than every other year and will be 2.6 degrees Celsius hotter than previously recorded.
