Flooding fuels climate debate in German election campaign
LUETZERATH, Germany — As Germany reels from the deadliest inland floods in living memory, one word has been on the lips of leading politicians: “klimawandel,” the German word for climate change.
Last week’s disaster has propelled the issue to the fore of an election campaign that will determine who succeeds Angela Merkel as German chancellor this fall after her 16 years in office.
It has also put the frontrunner in the race, her party’s new leader, Armin Laschet, on the defensive amid accusations he stalled efforts to expand the use of renewable energy, phase out coal power and introduce universal highway speed limits during four years as governor of North RhineWestphalia state.
An industrial powerhouse, the state is home to almost a quarter of Germany’s population and was among the regions hit hardest by the floods, which claimed more than 200 lives and caused billions of euros (dollars) worth of damage.
“I’ve known for a long time that climate change is a task that we’ll have to deal with,” Mr. Laschet said during a testy exchange with journalists after the worst flooding, insisting that he wanted “more speed” when it came to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Such statements offer a glimmer of hope to climate activists like Salome Dorfer, who is campaigning to save the tiny village of Luetzerath from being bulldozed to make way for a coal mine.
Scientists say that while it’s hard to attribute specific storms to climate change, extreme weather of the kind that caused the flash floods in parts of Western Europe last week will become more severe and frequent in a warming world.
Germany’s Green party stands to gain from an increased focus on climate change, University of Bonn political scientist Volker Kronenberg said.
The party has pledged to raise carbon prices and bring the country’s exit from coal-fired power forward to 2030. It has sought to soothe concerns about higher energy prices by pledging to give money raised from CO2 charges back to citizens in the form of an “energy bonus” that benefits low earners most.
The Social Democrats have proposed a similar cashback system, and they would introduce a 81 mph speed limit on Germany’s Autobahn, a simple measure experts say would lead to a noticeable reduction in fuel use.
A recent decision by Ms. Merkel’s government, in which the Social Democrats are junior partners, to aim to become carbon neutral by 2045, five years earlier than planned, prompted little opposition.
But telling voters the blunt truth about what Germany may need to do in the coming years will be particularly hard for Mr. Laschet, according to Mr. Kronenberg.
“North Rhine-Westphalia has very energy-intensive steel and heavy industry,” he said, “It’s a big challenge for companies and jobs.”