Andreas Jung, Deputy Chairman of the CDU and a climate expert, stated that more effort is required on climate protection. While he dismissed the need for a constitutional amendment to facilitate climate investments at the municipal level, he stressed that the precarious state of the economy must not be overlooked.
Speaking to the news channel “Welt,” Jung acknowledged that Germany has ambitious goals and has made significant progress, but added that both aspects require ongoing attention. “We must now consistently push forward with climate protection,” he said, adding that they must prepare for ongoing periods of severe heat, as the Chancellor has also stated. Therefore, despite existing efforts, there remains room for improvement in two key areas.
The government, he cautioned, needs to always consider the current economic climate. Jung argued that if climate protection is implemented intelligently, it can actually serve as an economic model. He asserted that the highest level of government holds the overall responsibility to integrate both the economy and climate action. “We have a critical economic situation, too. It would be wrong to focus only on one or the other.”
In line with the direction set by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Jung noted, the strategy is to unite innovation, the economy, and climate resilience. “If we tackle issues through innovation, that becomes an economic model. Then others will look and say, ‘We want to do it this way.’ We can collaborate with other nations, and we can export technologies. We can achieve much more with what we develop here than the current 2 percent of CO2 emissions in Germany.”
Jung deemed a constitutional amendment for enhanced climate protection unnecessary. While local government buildings certainly require investment, he pointed out that the constitution does not prohibit this. He cited summer conditions, where schools and daycares experienced temperatures of 30, 35 degrees Celsius and higher, as an urgent call to action. “We must adapt schools and daycares to these new conditions. We must make them both heat-resilient and energy-efficient.”
However, he noted that leaving this entirely to local authorities would be problematic because they are in a difficult financial situation. He maintained that while this is a societal task for local, regional, and federal governments, immediate action is possible without a change to the Basic Law. Funding could be allocated immediately if the Finance Minister, Lars Klingbeil, authorized it. Jung referenced the 2009 economic crisis, where an energy efficiency program for municipalities was successfully implemented under the existing constitutional framework.
He pointed out that funds are currently available through the special fund and the Climate Fund, supported by carbon pricing. “In both cases, this is well-invested money. These are public buildings. We already aim to become climate-friendly. And here, we can connect climate friendliness with heat resilience.”
