7.30 a.m.: The grand coalition still needs to talk about climate protection

Employees who want to take part in the campaign must, however, take time off or obtain permission from the employer. We explain what the legal situation looks like and what consequences workers face if they take part in a strike.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019, 7:01 p.m.: Coalition leaders meet before the climate cabinet meeting

Shortly before the decision on a federal government strategy for more climate protection, the leaders of the coalition parties meet for deliberations. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening. On Friday, the climate cabinet, chaired by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), wants to make far-reaching decisions so that Germany can achieve its climate goals by 2030. The main aim is to make the emission of the climate-damaging greenhouse gas CO2 more expensive when driving and heating. In return, relief for citizens and companies is planned, for example with the high electricity prices.

12:54 p.m.: Broad alliance calls for a climate strike

The Fridays for Future movement has broad support for its call for a global strike for more climate protection this Friday. There are environmental and development organizations such as Greenpeace and Bread for the World, but also the Evangelical Church, the Verdi union and the German Cultural Council. On Monday they called on all citizens to take part in the more than 400 demonstrations planned across Germany. "Young and adults together can push the government to act. So far, the federal government has failed"they explained.

The greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere is increasing day by day, the increase is still exponential, it said. "If it is not possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, there is a threat of a climate catastrophe that can no longer be stopped."

Verdi boss Frank Bsirske said that Fridays for Future rightly put pressure on politics. "Indeed, climate change must be addressed much more vigorously than before. He threatens humanity as a whole." The President of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, Annette Kurschus, said: "We are part of God’s creation and are jointly responsible for preserving it. We will campaign for climate protection even more consistently than before."

For the global strike week for more climate protection, which begins on Friday, activists have already announced protests in more than 2,000 cities in 129 countries. The protest movement initiated by the Swede Greta Thunberg is supported by schoolchildren and students. For Germany, Fridays for Future demands, among other things, that the bottom line is that emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases drop to zero by 2035 at the latest – 15 years earlier than previously planned. The coal phase-out should be completed by 2030 and a 100 percent renewable energy supply should be achieved by 2035.

11.32 a.m.: Lindner: "2020 cannot solve the problems of 2040"

The FDP chairman Christian Lindner has criticized the Federal Government’s intentions to combat the climate crisis. In the broadcast today he said on Sunday evening: "We cannot solve the problems of 2040 in 2020. It’s also about a free way of life, it’s also about economic progress. All of this must not be sacrificed to hasty climate protection, which in case of doubt does not bring anything on a global scale."

At the same time, Lindner calls for the debate about the car to be objectified. "The car, motorists and the automotive industry are currently almost only disregarded right up to the top of politics"he said in Berlin. There is one "Desire for paternalism and the downfall of a key industry". If, as in the fatal accident with an SUV in Berlin, you can read about murder and swank, it could only be about Kulturkampf. 

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 "The fact that individual mobility is a desire and a necessity for millions of people is ignored. The success of the automotive industry is part of our prosperity. Our industry is a technology leader and deserves recognition"said Lindner. "There is an urgent need to keep the debate objective." Instead of demonizing the car, the wishes of the people and the performance of the automotive industry should be respected. "Instead of deliberately making a policy against the car like the Greens, the focus should be on fair cooperation between modes of transport."

11.10 a.m.: CDU wants to relieve climate-friendly companies

With its concept for more climate protection, the CDU wants to relieve companies in Germany at the same time. "Those who invest faster and more intensively in climate protection receive appropriate tax privileges", said CDU Federal Vice-President Thomas Strobl on Monday before the start of the party’s committee meetings in Berlin.https://123helpme.me/argumentative-essay/ The CDU wanted a corporate tax reform based on climate protection. Strobl also called for more speed: "We have to get faster in Germany, climate change is not waiting for us." Read the article here.

Monday, September 16, 2019: 0.30 a.m.: Signals of rapprochement between the Union and the SPD

The Union and the SPD are starting the week of the decision on their billion-euro package for more climate protection with signals of rapprochement, but without any concrete stipulations. Read the entire text here.

Sunday, September 15, 9.30 a.m.: SPD wants one million new e-charging stations by 2025

In the negotiations with the Union on the climate protection package, the SPD is pushing for one million additional charging stations for electric cars. They should be built on roads and public parking lots by 2025, said Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) "Picture on sunday". A key factor in the fight against climate change is the switch to emission-free electric cars. "In order for e-vehicles to be bought in Germany, there must be sufficient opportunities to refuel these cars with electricity"said Scholz. That’s why Germany needs it "something like a million dollar charging station program".

According to the report, it is unclear whether the construction of the charging stations will be financed by the federal government or the municipal utilities. In addition, Scholz plans out loud "Picture on sunday" a tax relief for users of electric cars. Anyone who charges their electric car in the company’s parking lot or in the employer’s underground car park should no longer have to tax electricity as a monetary benefit in the future.

Saturday, September 14, 7:20 p.m .: Report: Coalition supposedly wants to spend 40 billion euros on the climate

The package of climate protection measures planned by the black-red coalition will, according to a report by "World on Sunday" will probably amount to a good 40 billion euros by 2023. The newspaper cites government circles. However, the German press agency learned from coalition circles that there was still no financial table. In addition, it was said that there was still no partial agreement.

5:17 p.m.: Environment Minister Schulze insists on the test mechanism

Environment Minister Svenja Schulze has rated the black-red negotiations on a far-reaching package of measures for more climate protection as positive. "I am glad that the urgency and seriousness of the decisions necessary for climate protection clearly shape the discussions and deliberations of the coalition leaders"said the SPD politician.

At the same time, Schulze insisted on a way to track the success of the measures: "In order to be able to absorb forecast uncertainties, a clear mechanism is needed for how we continuously check whether we are maintaining the target course and how we can readjust if necessary." It remains very important for them that the federal government approves a climate package next Friday with which the annual climate protection targets can be reliably achieved.

12 p.m .: Merkel: "Of course, climate protection costs money"

Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has asked for understanding for the upcoming far-reaching decisions of the black-red coalition for more climate protection. "Climate protection is a human challenge. In order to meet this challenge, we need a real show of strength"said Merkel in her video podcast. At the same time she admitted: "Of course, and we don’t need to talk about it, climate protection costs money." But she is convinced that the price will be much higher "if we don’t do anything about climate change".

The government will make urgently needed climate protection decisions on Friday in order to achieve international commitments. On the other hand you want "Act economically sensible and we have to act in a socially responsible manner so that everyone can afford this kind of climate protection"said Merkel. They are banking on innovation and want to give the climate-damaging greenhouse gas CO2 a price. "Because we know from the social market economy that when something has a price, there is also an incentive to reduce CO2 emissions." The state wants to give this income back to the citizens, or to promote new climate protection measures and provide incentives to behave in a climate-friendly manner.

7.30 a.m.: The grand coalition still needs to talk about climate protection

The heads of the grand coalition want to work on their concept for the fight against global warming until immediately before the decisive meeting of the climate cabinet. On Saturday night, after more than five hours of deliberations, they agreed to meet again next Thursday in order to remove the last hurdles for a joint decision.

On Friday, September 20, the federal government wants to take decisions on how Germany can meet the climate targets. Among other things, it involves funding programs worth billions and a restructuring of the tax and levy system.

It was reported from coalition circles that the negotiations on Friday evening were constructive. But there are still many details to be clarified and calculated. The CDU has not yet officially adopted a concept for climate protection, the party leadership wants to adopt it on Monday.

Friday, September 13, 5:16 p.m.: CDU wants to write sustainability into the Basic Law

The CDU wants to anchor the principle of sustainable development as a state goal in the Basic Law. "The future thus has constitutional status"According to a draft resolution for the meeting of the CDU leadership on Monday, about which the German press agency reported. The paper also contains the call for a national climate consensus suggested by party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Such a consensus should also include the FDP and the Greens in the federal government, as well as state governments and local umbrella organizations.

According to the paper, only partial areas of the principle of sustainability are anchored in the Basic Law: ecology through the protection of the natural basis of life, economy through the debt brake and the social through the welfare state principle. "Only the anchoring of the principle of sustainability itself requires guidelines for a policy that pervades all areas." The demand also takes up a long-standing demand of the Council for Sustainable Development of the Federal Government and the Sustainability Advisory Council of the Bundestag.

The CDU board wants to decide on the climate concept this Monday. On September 20, the climate cabinet of the federal government is to present an overall concept for more climate protection.

3:07 p.m.: SPD criticizes the climate bond

The SPD budget politician Johannes Kahrs has criticized plans by Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) for a community foundation to finance climate protection projects. Kahrs said during the budget debate in the Bundestag: "We give millionaires, people with a lot of money who invest in it, two percent interest that others don’t get. That is a gigantic redistribution from the bottom up."

Altmaier wants to mobilize billions of dollars from private capital. He hits one "Citizens’ Foundation for Climate Protection" to reduce CO2 emissions. The foundation is supposed to "Citizen Bonds" at a fixed interest rate of two percent with a minimum term of ten years.

I have proposed that the maximum amount of the beneficiary bonds be limited to e.g. € 2,500 per person limit. That helps many small savers. If they are “rich” from the point of view of the SPD, I am no longer surprised by the poor election results! https://t.co/df8jeXJ1wu

– Peter Altmaier (@peteraltmaier) September 13, 2019

Altmaier rejected Kahrs’ criticism on Twitter. He suggested limiting the maximum amount of the beneficiary bonds to, for example, 2,500 euros per person. "That helps many small savers. If the SPD "Rich" are no longer surprised by the poor election results."

12.32 p.m.: NRW Prime Minister criticizes the government for the climate cabinet

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) has criticized the federal government’s climate policy. The federal government restricts "when it comes to climate policy on the national framework, talking forever about bans on oil heating, SUVs and cheap flights"said Laschet "Süddeutsche Zeitung". The national view is "important though". But you can do that "do not neglect foreign climate policy, as the federal government has unfortunately been doing so far". Laschet asked why the foreign and development aid ministers were not in the climate cabinet. 

The CDU party police also said it wouldn’t "simply do not convey that environmental protection organizations such as Greenpeace, trade unions and employers in the coal commission needed less time for a compromise than the federal government now needs to implement the results".

11.40 a.m.: CDU wants to raise taxes on plane tickets significantly

The CDU wants to massively increase the ticket tax for domestic flights in the fight against climate change. "We want to double this ticket tax for all domestic flights and triple it for short-haul domestic flights under 400 kilometers"According to the draft resolution of the CDU for the board meeting on Monday, which the Reuters news agency received on Friday.  

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 The ticket tax for domestic flights is currently around 7.40 euros. In return, the train should become cheaper by reducing VAT on long-distance tickets, according to the concept "Climate-efficient Germany – with innovations into the future".

The CDU speaks out against a CO2 tax and in favor of a national trade in CO2 rights.