Climate debate in Zoff: Merz vs. Palmer - how is it going now?

Climate debate in Zoff: Merz vs. Palmer - how is it going now?

In a current TV talk to Markus Lanz there was heated discussions about German climate policy. Friedrich Merz from the CDU expressed that a climate-neutral Germany, with only 1% of the world population and 2% of global CO₂ emissions, was unable to prevent global climate impacts like the devastating floods in Texas. This statement caused a lively conversations among the talk guests, which dealt with the challenges and solutions of German climate policy. Alexander Palmer, the mayor of Tübingen, aims to make his city climate -neutral by 2030. He emphasized that long-lasting climate protection cannot be carried out at the expense of the economy and therefore called for the creation of win-win situations in which both economy and the environment can benefit. Palmer warned of an isolated CO₂ reduction strategy that could influence and impoverished Germany.

In this context, climate researcher Jochen Marotzke expressed his concerns about the efficiency of a German alone. He advocated working on the European level and pointed out the big sun resources in Spain, which could be better used together. His warning: a greenhouse gas -neutral EU could lead to fossil fuels becoming more attractive to other countries. European space is therefore not only important to achieve the national climate goals, but also to tackle the global challenges together.

The facts in the EU

An important basis for this was the climate law, which was decided in July 2021 and set the legal anchoring for greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. Furthermore, the EU Commission plans to further reduce emissions in the next few years and will aim to reduce the THG emissions by 90% by 2040. The associated "Fit for 55" package of measures contains 13 strategies to implement these climate goals and to promote renewable energies.

the look into the future

The current developments show that rethinking throughout the EU is necessary in order to actually achieve the ambitious climate goals. This also includes increased investment in photovoltaics and wind power. In Denmark, where 87.5% of electricity production already comes from renewable energies, it is to be taken as a model. Germany has also developed a place at the top, with over 61 gigawatts of photovoltaic performance. The wind power has also increased significantly in recent years, with an increase of 128% since 2013.

Another concern is the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in traffic, which causes around 20% of THG emissions in the EU. Road traffic increased from 609 million tons of CO₂ equivalents in 1990 to 794 million tons in 2022, which shows that there is still a lot of action here. The goal of allowing emission -free new cars from 2035 could be a pioneering step in the right direction and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

at a time when the climate crisis becomes increasingly pressing, the discussions about German and European climate policy show that it is not just about technical measures, but also about social acceptance and economic feasibility. A collective rethinking is necessary so that we can not only reach the climate goals, but also keep our wealth level.

Details
OrtTübingen, Deutschland
Quellen

Kommentare (0)