The German government remains committed to its established climate protection goals, affirmed Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) during parliamentary questioning this week. Addressing the Bundestag, Merz declared that the government is unified in its dedication to these objectives, both domestically, within the European Union and on an international scale, emphasizing a lack of internal disagreement on the fundamental targets.
While reiterating this commitment, the Chancellor also highlighted the disproportionate responsibility of individual nations in addressing climate change. He pointed out that Germany represents just one percent of the global population yet contributes approximately two percent of global CO2 emissions. Merz cautioned that even a complete shift to climate neutrality within Germany would not, on its own, eliminate natural disasters worldwide.
A collaborative, international approach is essential to achieving meaningful progress, he stated. In this context, Merz welcomed the recent proposal from the European Commission to allow Germany to support climate projects in other parts of the world and to factor those efforts into Germany’s own climate commitments. He argued that in certain regions, climate mitigation can be achieved more effectively and efficiently due to lower implementation costs.