In the run-up to the first coalition committee meeting on Wednesday, climate activist Luisa Neubauer has warned the Union and SPD against “budget tricks” in the name of climate protection.
Neubauer, a co-founder of Fridays for Future, told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung (NOZ) that if the coalition leaders undermine the commitment to invest an additional 100 billion euros in climate protection three weeks after the start, “there will be little credibility left.” The increase in funds for the climate transformation fund was a condition for the formation of the government and therefore, it is not acceptable to now use the regular budget to reallocate funds.
The warning comes in response to a request from the Ministry of Finance, led by Lars Klingbeil, to the other ministries to explore the possibility of shifting funds from the budget to the climate fund. Klingbeil had previously rejected the Greens’ accusations of using the special fund to plug budget holes.
At the coalition meeting on Wednesday, Klingbeil must clear up the remaining doubts, Neubauer demanded. “The coalition committee will be an actual how-dare-you-moment” she said to the NOZ. “The climate crisis is no puppet show. The government would convey the impression of using budget tricks in the fight against global warming and moving money from here to there.”
Neubauer senses a great willingness in many conversations to accept the new government with open arms and help, “no matter what the past was and I count myself in.” However, she added, “But the first signals for climate protection are worse than we could have imagined.” “Germany will not secure a stable economy, a stable infrastructure and a closed society in the long run if we do not mobilize everything we can against the catastrophes.