An influential pro-business group within Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is pushing for an overhaul of the country’s climate policy, which commentators have judged “akin to a revolution”.
In a joint motion for the CDU’s upcoming conference in February, the Small and Medium-Sized Business and Economics Union (MIT) demands that the party strive towards “a re-definition of the goal of climate neutrality at the European level”.
The goal of MIT is to ensure the competitiveness of the German economy as – according to the motion – German and European climate protection laws do not help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally but, rather, attack the continent’s “industrial substance”.
The motion is supported by the Christian Democratic Workers’ Association (CDA), the CDU workers’ wing.
German news site Nius published excerpts from the motion yesterday.
The groups would like to see the European Union “set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2050 as the basis for European climate protection and to link further reductions after 2050 to global greenhouse gas emission trends”.
This would mean dropping the current vision of the EU achieving “net zero” by 2050 – that is a European economy that does not emit any greenhouse gases as a whole.
MIT chairwoman Gitta Connemann told newspaper Handelsblatt yesterday: “Climate neutrality must mean 90 per cent less emissions by 2050 – European in thought but globally embedded. Everything else will depend on global developments.”
The authors of the motion add: “It is becoming increasingly clear that the current climate targets are causing significant additional costs and losing social acceptance – not only in Germany, but throughout Europe.”
While the motion is bold for German standards – where the fight against “global warning” is beyond question for all major parties except for the right-wing AfD – the authors refrain from demanding Germany abolish its climate targets altogether, writing: “The transformation is intentional. But it has to be realistic and realisable.”
Nonetheless, the motion is sparking outrage on the German Left.
Left-wing magazine Spiegel today called it “akin to a revolution” and warned the proposal would “destabilise the existing order”.
“It would shake international climate protection to its core and could set in motion a chain of events that would ultimately cause suffering on a massive scale. Mass movements of refugees. A more authoritarian world,” it said.
The CDU party congress will take place on February 20 and 21 in Stuttgart in southern Germany.
Party grandees on January 21 reportedly suggested the formation of a working group that would include representatives of MIT and CDA to arrive at a common position regarding the future of German climate policy.
