Germany and Climate. Change

Germany's first major national climate law has entered into force on 18 December 2019, three months after the coalition of chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) agreed to introduce it as part of an extensive climate package to reach 2030 climate targets. The package forms the bedrock of the country's long-term climate policy. This factsheet provides details of Germany's framework Climate Action Law. In their 2018 coalition treaty, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats (SPD) promised to introduce “a law that guarantees compliance with the climate targets for 2030”. The government decided that this would not be a single law. Instead, it is working out a comprehensive climate package. After overnight coalition negotiations, the parties presented a 23-page-document with the key elements of this package on 20 September and is now working out the details. The government decided the package would consist of: (A) a major framework “Climate Action Law” and (B) a policy programme of measures, called “Climate Action Programme 2030”. The document from 20 September contains information on both, and the term “climate action law” often refers to the whole package. This factsheet looks at (A), the Climate Action Law in the narrower sense. The (B) Programme 2030 contains climate action measures for all sectors – such as the coal exit, renewables expansion and support for e-mobility – and cross-sector policies such as a pricing system for carbon emissions in transport and buildings. Implementing the programme entails a myriad of changes to existing climate and energy-related laws and regulations. The cabinet adopted both in a meeting on 9 October. The federal parliament (Bundestag) decided the law with minor changes on 15 November. The Bundesrat, the council of state governments, greenlit the law on 29 November, clearing the last hurdle. The climate law entered into force on 18 December 2019.