Angela Merkel acknowledges that Germany’s record in reducing carbon emissions is “not enough” to achieve global warming goals Paris Climate AgreementAs prime minister, she reflects on the achievements and missed opportunities of her 16 years of leadership.
Merkel spoke at the last annual summer press conference on Thursday, and then resigned as leader of Europe’s largest economy after the federal election on September 26, Merkel said Germany Facing the climate crisis, “a lot has been done” to readjust the economy, increasing the share of renewable energy in its energy structure from 10% to 40%, and reducing carbon emissions by 20% between 1990 and 2010. %, and an increase of 20% in the following 10 years.
Nevertheless, the 67-year-old admitted that according to the Paris Agreement, global warming is controlled to be far below the pre-industrial level 2C, preferably 1.5C, as measured by the target, “the achievements already made are not enough” . She said that not only Germany, but the entire world failed to achieve its goals.
Merkel said: “I have enough scientific consciousness to see that the objective situation requires us not to continue at the current speed, but to speed up the pace.”
She believes that although Germany alone cannot change the world’s climate, “the way we do this can set an example for others to follow.”
Merkel, who served as Prime Minister Helmut Kohl’s Minister of Environment from 1994 to 1998, stated that the fight for global joint steps to achieve more effective climate protection “shaped my entire political work”.
She defended her government Decided in 2011 By 2022, nuclear power will be phased out, which critics say makes the country more dependent on coal power. “For Germany, it has been decided,” she said. “I don’t think the future government will change anything in this regard.”
After last week’s record rainfall and flash floods, the issue of climate emergencies has returned to the top of the political agenda Destroyed most of western Germany, Killing at least 179 people and throwing into chaos the transportation and energy infrastructure in parts of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The German National Weather Service said on Thursday that areas hit by floods last week may see more heavy rains over the weekend.
Merkel said that rebuilding houses, railways and energy lines in the disaster-stricken areas will be a daunting task, requiring her efforts “until her last day as prime minister.”
On Wednesday, her cabinet approved emergency financial assistance worth 200 million euros (170 million pounds) for people affected by the flood, and it is expected that the state government will match the federal aid program.
More than 4,500 civil defense workers, firefighters, and soldiers have been deployed to help clean up the hard-hit Ahr valley in the Rhineland-Palatinate state.
Merkel said that the extent of the damage has not yet been determined, “but it is huge.”
At the beginning of the one-and-a-half-hour press conference, Merkel also expressed her concerns about the “worrying dynamics” of the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany, saying that the Delta variant is driving another wave of “exponential growth.” Growth”, although 60% of the German population has been vaccinated at least once.
The Robert Koch Institute, the German disease control agency, registered 1,890 new infections in the past 24 hours on Thursday. There were 12.2 new cases per 100,000 people last week, which is higher than the low of 4.9 in early July.
