Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the CDU has refuted claims that the German government intends to deviate from its agreed-upon climate protection goals. During a parliamentary session on Wednesday, he affirmed the government’s commitment to the climate targets established at national, European and international levels, stating that there is no internal disagreement on the objectives themselves.
Merz acknowledged, however, that the feasibility of achieving these targets precisely as initially planned is a subject for ongoing evaluation. “The question is whether we can actually achieve it as we jointly planned to do prematurely” he said.
He further emphasized Germany’s relatively small contribution to the global population – approximately one percent – while accounting for roughly two percent of global CO2 emissions. He cautioned that unilateral German climate neutrality, if achieved, would not eliminate natural disasters worldwide. “Even if we were all climate neutral in Germany tomorrow, no single natural disaster would occur less frequently, no forest fire would be reduced, nor would floods in Texas abate” he explained.
Advocating for a collaborative international approach, Merz welcomed the European Commission’s recent proposal to facilitate German support for climate-related projects in other parts of the world. He argued that, in certain regions, significant progress can be achieved at a lower cost, highlighting the potential for amplified impact through international cooperation.
