Swiss authorities approve a less stringent climate change legislation.
The Bundesrat gave its approval to the climate protection law drafted by the federal government. This formal step is significant for the traffic light coalition as it means that individual ministries no longer need to meet specific CO2 reduction targets independently. Instead, they can work together towards achieving collective goals.
Following the Bundestag's approval, the Bundesrat passed the contentious amendment to the Climate Protection Act. The upper house of the German parliament could have, at least, delayed the bill, but a majority of federal states favored its passage. This reform will take pressure off the transport and building sectors, both of which have struggled to meet past legal requirements.
The new law removes the mandatory, annual caps on greenhouse gas emissions for individual sectors. Improving climate protection will be necessary only if Germany's overall target is in jeopardy. This first review is scheduled for 2026, which means the current government won't have to introduce any fresh climate protection legislation.
Germany managed to meet its 2023 climate target, in part, due to a weak economy. However, maintaining this trend in the years to come is not guaranteed. Under previous legislation, the transport and building sectors were supposed to have initiated immediate programs to stay on track. Instead, they fell short, leading to criticism and legal action against relevant ministers like Transport Minister Volker Wissing from the FDP, who had advocated for the law change. This reform was already outlined in the coalition agreement.
Despite these changes, the environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe is suing the government's climate protection program, designed to regulate the implementation of the Climate Protection Act's objectives. The Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court ruled this program inadequate given Germany's climate targets, which have remained unchanged despite the legislative amendment. The government is likely to appeal the decision to the Federal Administrative Court.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
- Volker Wissing, as the Transport Minister from the FDP in the traffic light coalition, faced criticism for the transport sector's failure to meet past CO2 reduction targets, despite advocating for the law change aimed at easing the burden.
- The Federal Council, in its approval of the less stringent climate change legislation, allowed for collective goals in CO2 reduction instead of individual ministry targets, a development that German Environmental Aid (DUH) may find problematic for effective climate protection.
- Despite the traffic light coalition's approval of a relaxation in climate protection legislation, the German Environmental Aid (DUH) has taken legal action against the government's climate protection program, claiming it inadequately aligns with the country's overall climate targets.
Source: www.ntv.de
