[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Major foreign media reported on the 3rd (local time) that Germany's Green Party is proposing the establishment of a new ministerial position responsible for climate change response policies as a new election pledge.
On the same day, the Green Party announced an emergency climate protection pledge and stated that it would create a new ministerial position responsible for climate protection if it comes to power. The Green Party made this new proposal to seek a rebound in support ahead of the general election on the 26th of next month. The climate minister is expected to oversee policies to comply with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
The Green Party announced that during the first 100 days after the new government is launched, it will hold weekly meetings on climate change response. The climate minister will lead the government's climate change response team and preside over the meetings. Additionally, the climate minister will have the authority to veto proposed bills within the executive branch if they are deemed to conflict with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Robert Habeck, co-leader of the Green Party, said, "Whether the Green Party becomes the ruling party or participates in a coalition, compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement will be a core policy of the Green Party."
Annaleena Baerbock, co-leader of the Green Party and candidate for chancellor, also emphasized, "The worst flood in 60 years that occurred last month in the northern region shows that climate change is an urgent issue that the next government must address."
In April, the Green Party caused a sensation by nominating Baerbock as the chancellor candidate and, for the first time in its 40-year history, overtaking the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance to become the party with the highest support ratings.
However, the Green Party's surge was short-lived, and recent polls show it trailing the CDU/CSU alliance by about 5 to 10 percentage points.
Baerbock faced controversies after failing to report a year-end bonus to the parliament last year and being embroiled in plagiarism allegations over a book published after her nomination. Additionally, co-leader Habeck's statement in May that Germany should sell weapons to Ukraine to help it resist Russia became a negative factor for the Green Party.
On the same day, the Green Party announced a new pledge to increase investment in climate protection by 15 billion euros in the next government's budget. In exchange, it pledged to cut subsidies harmful to the environment by 10 billion euros. It also promised to advance the phase-out date of coal-fired power plants from 2038 to 2030 and accelerate the expansion of renewable energy.
The Green Party argued, "At the current pace of eco-friendly promotion, it will take Germany 56 years to produce 100% of its electricity from eco-friendly energy sources," adding, "There is no time to spare."
According to a poll released last weekend by the German weekly Bild am Sonntag, commissioned to the polling firm Insa, the CDU/CSU alliance ranked first with 27% party support. The Green Party followed with 18%, and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) came next with 17%.
In terms of chancellor candidate support, Green Party candidate Baerbock ranked second with 13%, behind current Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who received 22% support. Minister Scholz is the SPD's chancellor candidate. Baerbock's 13% support is half of what it was in the May 2nd survey.
The ruling CDU/CSU alliance's candidate Armin Laschet received only 13% support.
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