The U.S. government, on Thursday, struck down a central foundation for climate‑protection measures in the United States, prompting Germany’s federal government to double down on its reliance on international alliances to curb global warming.
In a press conference on Friday, a spokesperson for the German Federal Ministry for the Environment said, “Not only the federal environment minister but also Europe as a player is always eager to create alliances around the world. Of course, the United States is an important player, but it is not the only one”.
President Donald Trump revoked the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to issue rules limiting climate‑harmful greenhouse gases. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is legally bound to regulate pollutants once it identifies them as threats to public health and the environment. A 2009 assessment had classified six greenhouse gases as hazardous, thereby permitting regulation. That assessment, which aligned with the international scientific consensus, is now being discarded.
When asked about how Germany should address the political direction of China, the world’s second‑largest CO₂ emitter, the ministry declined to comment further but affirmed its ongoing recognition of scientific evidence.
Germany and the European Union reaffirmed their commitment to the EU’s 2040 intermediate target of a 90 % reduction in greenhouse‑gas emissions compared with 1990 levels, a goal that is part of the European Climate Law and a stepping stone toward legally binding climate neutrality by 2050. The spokesperson emphasized that this target is fundamentally science‑based, underscoring that the EU sets its objectives on scientific findings.