- The country wants to focus its finances more on sustainability
Lower Saxony's state government will align its fiscal and financial policy more strongly with sustainability and climate protection in the future. Starting with the state budget in the coming year, a so-called "climate check" will be launched, as announced jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Environment in Hannover.
For the 2025 budget, a climate indicator will be introduced for the first time. According to the information, all ministries have marked all expenses that contribute to climate protection in their budget planning for the coming year. This is intended to provide a better overview of the sum available for climate impacts. It will distinguish between expenses for climate protection and climate adaptation.
Finance Minister Gerald Heere (Greens) hopes that this step will increase transparency about how much money is actually spent on climate protection and how these expenses will develop in the coming years. According to Heere, no additional staff will need to be hired for this climate check.
The new "climate check" initiative, announced by Lower Saxony's Finance and Environment Ministries, will be applied to the Landtag's budget planning, ensuring a clear distinction between expenses for climate protection and adaptation. The Landtag, in its budget preparations, will now explicitly categorize expenses related to environmental sustainability and climate protection.
