Build political majority vs climate change, says German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved an ambitious plan to reduce Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero’ by 2045.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she understands young people’s frustration about the pace of efforts to combat climate change, but is stressing the need to build political majorities to support effective action. Ms. Merkel’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved an ambitious plan to reduce Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero’ by 2045, five years earlier and with deeper cuts than previously planned. The move came after the country’s top court, acting on complaints filed by individuals and backed by environmental groups, ruled in late April that the government must set clear goals for reducing emissions after 2030.