威力彩玩法

The German government coalition could be headed for a deep row over its Climate Action Law, which is intended to get the country back on track toward meeting its emissions targets, according to several German media reports. Plans by SPD environment minister Svenja Schulze to roll out a framework for the law have been put on hold after protests from Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 conservative CDU/CSU alliance, the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung and Handelsblatt write.

Schulze wants to hold other ministries financially accountable for failing to abide by EU emissions targets. She also wants her environment ministry to be able to demand improvements in policymaking on transport, heating, agriculture and other areas seen as critical for meeting Germany鈥檚 climate targets should the other departments fail to deliver. But Schulze鈥檚 plans have been met with staunch resistance from the conservative alliance.

The CDU鈥檚 environmental policy spokesperson, Marie-Luise D枚tt, told newspaper Tagesspiegel that the conservatives would not accept that much power for Schulze鈥檚 environment ministry. 鈥淯nder a regime of shared responsibility, it鈥檚 not possible that one ministry fills a dominating position,鈥� D枚tt said. According to the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung, conservative politicians say the planned law 鈥渋s not dead but put on hold鈥� for now.聽

But Schulze鈥檚 state secretary in the environment ministry, Jochen Flasbarth, insisted the row would not endanger the government鈥檚 timetable. 鈥淲e will of course implement the coalition treaty鈥檚 provisions for climate action, one by one. This includes a Climate Action Law that ensures we meet the 2030 climate targets,鈥� Flasbarth .

Shaky coalition

The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD calls for a Climate Action Law to be introduced in 2019. But the coalition got off to a rocky start in 2018. Internal rows over immigration slowed down other policymaking initiatives relevant for the country鈥檚 Energiewende, the dual shift from nuclear and fossil fuel to a renewables-based climate-friendly economy. Many observers have wondered if the coalition can muster the strength to push through ambitious legislation on climate as both conservatives and Social Democrats have seen severe losses in regional elections, losing ground to both right-wing populists and the Green party. With the European parliament elections in May and votes in East German mining states due in autumn, commentators have started to speculate about an early end to the current coalition.

However, the SPD-led environment ministry continues to voice confidence about the Climate Action Law. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still on schedule,鈥� a spokesperson for the environment ministry (BMU) told 威力彩玩法.

The BMU said the law鈥檚 first draft is being finalised and should be ready 鈥渨ithin the next few days.鈥� The environment ministry has called on other ministries to submit planned measures for emissions reduction by the end of March. 鈥淭his is one of the government鈥檚 key policy projects,鈥� the BMU spokesperson said, adding that a decision is needed soon so that industry can prepare for the new legal regime.

The BMU鈥檚 approach is to split the Climate Action Law into two separate sections. The first part would set CO2 budgets for individual sectors, with the possibility of setting maximum annual emissions levels. The second part will include a suite of government policies, which will be decided after the ministries submit their plans. The current proposal includes a measure allowing the environment ministry to amend laws that technically fall under the responsibility of other ministries but are deemed essential for climate policy. Germany鈥檚 conservatives vehemently oppose this additional authority for the environment ministry.

Environment minister Schulze repeatedly stated that she wants Germany to get back on track toward meeting its emissions reduction targets under the Paris agreement, after the government had to admit that the national targets for 2020 are now out of reach. She wants to make sure the next major round of emissions targets, set for 2030, are not missed in the same way.

Under those targets, Germany鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced 55 percent below 1990 levels by the end of the next decade. A set of sectoral targets in the country鈥檚 Climate Action Plan 2050, passed during the previous legislative period, is meant to ensure progress and provide guidelines for the ministries submitting their individual climate action measures.

According to the BMU, the measures for the energy sector are largely outlined in proposals from Germany鈥檚 coal exit commission. The agriculture ministry has also submitted proposals, but so far the government has not produced plans for the other relevant sectors, transport and buildings, and there are few signs that deliberations are proceeding smoothly.

The independent transport commission is supposed to come up with recommendations similar to those developed by the coal commission. But it has recently made headlines for a row between CSU transport minister Andreas Scheuer, and experts on the commission, after it emerged that the commission might consider a speed limit for German highways and higher fuel prices. 鈥�Demands that provoke anger, bring about burdens or endanger our prosperity will not become reality and I reject them,鈥� Scheuer said about the leaked 鈥�list of ideas,鈥� from the commission.

Things are not looking much better for the buildings commission, which falls under CSU interior minister Horst Seehofer. In mid-February, reports emerged that the commission, tasked with finding ways to curb emissions in heating and construction, might not be appointed as planned, leading to criticism from industry representatives. 鈥淭his is not responsible policymaking,鈥� said Andreas Mattner, head of the German real estate federation ZIA.

Germany might have to pay billions in fines after failing to comply with EU emissions reduction targets in the agriculture, transport and heating sectors, which are not covered by the Union鈥檚 emissions trading system (ETS). Schulze wants those payments to be drawn from the responsible ministries鈥� budgets, and she wants her own ministry to be able to impose changes on policy proposals it deems insufficient for meeting reduction targets.

Another contentious issue is the proposal for a national carbon price. As early as March 2018, Schulze said that she considers a national carbon price as a possible key element of Germany鈥檚 reformed climate policy architecture. But the new state secretary for energy in the CDU-led economy and energy ministry, Andreas Feicht, swept that proposal aside in his first appearance at a major energy industry event,saying that there would be no price on carbon emissions during the current legislative period which runs official until autumn 2021.

Meanwhile, Georg N眉脽lein, deputy parliamentary group speaker of the CDU/CSU has that the country鈥檚 planned coal exit would consume so much of the government鈥檚 financial resources for now that 鈥渢here鈥檚 little room for other climate action measures鈥� A price on carbon emissions could lead to resistance by those most affected by rising fuel prices, N眉脽lein argued.聽

School student strikes add pressure on government

While a number of politicians from the business-friendly wing of the conservatives have attacked the coal compromise and first estimates by energy company RWE of compensation for switching off coal plants early as proposed have also ruffled feathers, the environmental NGOs emphasised that the exit had to go ahead at the speed suggested by the commission. Energy state secretary Feicht meanwhile said in a video statement the ministry was working on the implementation of the coal exit proposal. 鈥淭here is no way back,鈥� he said. "We will have no coal-fired power generation anymore by 2038 at the latest."

The government is also facing pressure from a growing student movement, Fridays for Future, in which German students have protested on Fridays in recent against inadequate climate action.

The movement, started by 16-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg, has been gaining momentum in Germany. High school students have gone on strike in cities up and down the country. While many climate activists, NGOs and politicians from the Green Party聽 have praised the students鈥� engagement, conservative commentators have mocked them for 鈥渟kipping school鈥� and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia recently sent a letter to school heads must be enforced.

Some climate activists jumped on remarks by , which they felt insinuated that the Fridays for Future protests have been influenced by outside actors. However, Merkel鈥檚 spokesman Steffen Seibert later clarified that the Chancellor backed the young people鈥檚 engagement. 鈥淐hancellor Merkel named #FridaysForFuture as an example of mobilization through campaigns on the web. She explicitly approves the student鈥檚 engagement for climate policy,鈥� Seibert said in a statement on Twitter.