German Government Approves Set of Measures on Climate Protection - Environment Minister

BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th October, 2019) The German government approved on Wednesday a set of measures on climate protection, German Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Svenja Schulze said.

The legislation was unveiled by the government in September and includes such measures as introducing a carbon price for key sectors of the economy and a nearly $60 billion spending package to encourage producers to reduce their carbon emissions.

"Climate protection finally becomes legally binding. It becomes a law and that is very good. The Climate Protection Act is a very decisive step forward. I have been fighting for this for a long time, and I am glad that this decision was made today," Schulze said on Twitter.

Schulze noted that the peculiarity of the new legislation was that the climate protection policy in Germany was becoming "planned."

"Everyone knows how things will move forward in the next few years and that nobody will be overburdened," she added.

The new legislation will now go to parliament for consideration. Among other goals in the initiative are a 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 and reaching a "climate neutrality" status by 2050 � this means reducing emissions caused by anthropogenic factors to zero. Germany is the first country to have made such a commitment at the legislative level.