Last week’s Nature editorial praised chancellor Merkel for her “welcome immunity” against governments that seem to ignore basic science, deny climate change and go against the Paris climate agreement. The editorial ends by arguing that Merkel not only deserves another term, but also that she is able to deliver and promote science even further. Some pages later in the same issue, there is a more detailed journal article on “Germany’s scientific excellence”. This is another compliment for Merkel, although a bit more critical as it puts Germany’s science into historical perspective. Then, despite all the honors and praise in the previous pages, we find a commentary that is heavily critical on Germany’s climate and environmental policies in the last couple of decades.
At DiEM25, we welcome Nature’s effort to promote the scientific discussion and to elevate it to key political debates such as next Sunday’s German federal election. We also believe that climate change and green technologies are vital issues not only for the next chancellor or the EU, but worldwide. As Germany is likely to miss its environmental targets by a wide margin, we should envision the next German chancellor addressing all criticism on matters of climate change by accelerating Germany’s green transition and becoming a world leader in eliminating CO2 emissions.
Merkel has the potential to deliver, indeed. However, we need to speak out if German elections are to change anything.
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