Climate Policy

In an interview, Dr. Franziska Brantner MdB comments on the results of the “Actually European!? Citizen expectations of the next German government’s EU policy” study and makes the case for greater German engagement in the fields of climate protection, tax policy and ensuring the rule of law.

As a representative survey reveals, citizens expect the next federal government to set clear priorities, to pursue an active and cooperative European policy and to invest more jointly in European issues of the future.

Crises are moments when the hairline cracks and chips in the structures of our societies start to show. Whether the crisis is of an economic, public health, rule of law or climate nature: for bold responses to the crises of our times, strong and progressive alliances are needed now more than ever. 

The European Green Deal will only become a true success story if the EU functions as a multi-level governing system in the truest sense of the word and the various levels operate at a well-connected interplay.

The Green Deal offers an excellent framework for a sustainable, viable Europe. The challenge of the day, however, lies in filling it with life. We must ensure that the right measures are undertaken to match and reach the right goals.

In order to achieve the declared goal of turning Europe into the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, the member states in general, but also the German government in particular, must take a far more resolute approach when implementing the European Green Deal. The necessary pressure to do so is being exerted by citizens and at the EU level alike.

With the two-day Biden leaders summit on climate attended by 40 countries, the United States has returned to the international stage of climate diplomacy. Whether the increased ambition of new climate action pledges via video made by several core countries can be implemented in a binding manner, however, remains an open question.

On 22 April 2021, Joe Biden hosted heads of States at a climate summit, announcing a new climate goal of the United States under the Paris Agreement. In Europe, a compromise for the EU’s climate goal for 2030 was found. What do these targets mean in terms of actual emission reductions?

Questions of environmental and climate policy remain relevant even during a pandemic, as the protests and debates about the stimulus package to fight the crisis show.  The German states have taken on a deciding roll regarding questions of implementation – which started already during the negotiations for the climate package. The Greens contributed the most to the climate package's increased substance. 

Interconnectedness is at the source and solution of present (and looming) transnational challenges. Despite setbacks and deadlocks, broader approaches and pragmatic solutions are needed. This necessitates the inclusion of key actors from the private sector as well as civil society.