News Digest Item
26 Oct 2017

Climate Chancellor or Coal Chancellor – Taking stock of Merkel’s climate policy 2005 - 2017

Greenpeace Germany

There is a large gap between the standards in climate protection that German Chancellor Angela Merkel proclaims on an international stage and the actual results of her policies at home, according to a Greenpeace Germany paper. The NGO charts Merkel’s political climate career from her time as environment minister in 1994 until her tenure as Chancellor from 2005 to 2017, and calls the period “12 lost years for climate protection”. Annual average greenhouse gas reductions were lower than under previous chancellors Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder, and Merkel gave in to pressure from the coal lobby and car industry instead of phasing out coal-fired power generation and the combustion engine, Greenpeace says. Greenpeace held a  in front of the chancellery today.

Find the paper in German .

For background, read the 淨 factsheet The story of "Climate Chancellor" Angela Merkel.

All texts created by the 淨 are available under a . They can be copied, shared and made publicly accessible by users so long as they give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

Journalism for the energy transition

Get our Newsletter
Join our Network
Find an interviewee