Two days before the latest parliamentary election, crowds gathered in towns and cities around the nation, calling for serious action on climate change.
The so-called “Europe Green Deal” negotiated last December calls for a 55% reduction in gas emissions over this decade and a low-carbon share in the 27-member bloc by 2050.
As one journalist covering the election said to me,’the debate over climate policies in Germany has to be taken a very hard look at.’
She will remain as caretaker administration until a new federal government is formed after last month’s elections.
“I won’t be there anymore but will watch closely how far the ability to compromise goes,” she said during an audience in Cáceres to be presented with the European Prize of Carlos V by King Felipe VI.
The question is how quickly, and how soon.
Speaking about the deadly floods in Germany last July, she said:”people speak much too often about the costs of climate protection and much too little about the cost of failing to protect the climate.”
It also urged people to concentrate on the “new market opportunities, new technologies, new employment opportunities” that will develop as a result of the energy transition.