Climate crisis debate set in Bundestag as Greens raise alarm

At the request of the Green Party, the Bundestag is holding a debate on the escalating climate crisis and its consequences. "The federal government must not neglect climate protection," Green Party parliamentary director Irene Mihalic told the AFP news agency on Tuesday. She accused the government of "looking the other way." According to the Bundestag agenda, the debate is scheduled to take place on Thursday afternoon.

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"We are experiencing one of the most severe spring droughts since 1931," Mihalic explained her group's motion. She also pointed to the melting glaciers in Switzerland. "And the new Energy Minister is fantasizing about new fossil-fuel power plants and questioning the energy transition," the Green Party politician criticized the actions of Economics and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU).

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"The dramatic nature of the climate crisis is inversely proportional to the program of this federal government, which contains only gaps in climate, environmental, and nature conservation policy," Mihalic told AFP. The government lacks "the will and seriousness to tackle the major challenges in order to avert impending dangers to the population or at least improve protection against them."

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"This turning a blind eye is grossly negligent, and we as the Greens will not accept it," Mihalic emphasized. "Those who forgo environmental and climate policy endanger the foundations of life and accept that our prosperity will be destroyed sooner or later," she warned. The Greens would therefore "fight to ensure that combating the climate crisis receives the attention it deserves and needs."

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"We can only secure prosperity if we also pursue climate protection consistently," emphasized Green Party parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann in Berlin. She criticized the demand by Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU), who had called for postponing the goal of greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045 to 2050.

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"In my view, this is an irresponsible statement and position, given the extreme weather and the impact of the climate crisis on our lives, our everyday lives, and our livelihoods," Haßelmann said. She also pointed to the drought in many regions. Due to the resulting threat of crop failures, "we will certainly also have to reckon with increased food prices," she warned.