Germany’s EU Climate Policy: A Call to Action

18/12/2023

The "Green Deal" counts as one of the most ambitious projects of the current European legislative cycle. In 2019, the European Commission set the goal to reach climate neutrality in 2050. Notwithstanding the achievements made, climate change remains one of the top concerns of European citizens ahead of the European elections in June 2024.

In this issue of the “Berlin Perspectives”, Sylwia Andralojc-Bodych analyses Germany’s role in EU climate governance in recent years. She outlines how Germany has mostly supported policies for more ambitious goals and stricter implementation at European level, but in doing so remained rather reactive than proactive. Further, significant gaps remain in the implementation of Germany’s own climate policy goals. The government has thus left expectations of being the main driver behind Europe’s climate transition unfulfilled. Andralojc-Bodych offers suggestions on how Germany can better fill this role in the coming legislative cycle, notably by building bridges between more progressive and sceptical Member States and by championing European climate policy initiatives, such as ambitious climate targets for the next decade.