Germany climate amendment plan splits coalition

A proposal by German Social Democratic ministers to put climate adaptation and nature conservation into Germany's constitution has exposed divisions inside Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition.

The SPD, the junior coalition partner to Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc, said Berlin should enshrine the need for “climate adaptation and nature conservation” in Germany's Basic Law. The ministers also urged changes to urban planning laws and building codes, and new labour laws for working in high temperatures.

Environment Minister Carsten Schneider, an SPD member, said the climate crisis had become a “tangible reality” as the Rhine runs low and forest fires flare, but said current law limits what his ministry can do in response.

Key figures in the CDU/CSU bloc pushed back against the idea, warning about possible costs. Klaus Mack, deputy chairman of the CDU parliamentary group, raised concerns about fiscal implications and administrative hurdles. CDU climate policy spokesman Mark Helfrich told Politico that conservatives “are not convinced” by the SPD idea of new joint funding for national, regional and local climate measures.

The SPD plan would require support from Merz's conservatives because changing the Basic Law requires a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Environmental groups largely supported the SPD proposal and criticised Merz for not setting out his own plan for drought, heat and water shortages. Barbara Metz, head of Environmental Action Germany, told the RND media group that Germany was ill-prepared for heatwaves she said were striking more often because of the escalating climate crisis.

The opposition Greens back the idea in principle, but party chief Felix Banaszak accused the SPD of previously blocking similar proposals. The far-left Die Linke dismissed the proposal as “empty promises”, while the far-right and climate-sceptic AfD rejected it.

Merz has faced accusations of weakening Germany's climate commitments while trying to support the economy by cutting red tape and reducing energy costs. An expert commission in May forecast that Germany would miss its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets, which are anchored in law. Environmental Action Germany has also brought a lawsuit over the current government's climate action plan.

Other European countries are debating similar reforms. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's leftist government in June unveiled a programme to strengthen resilience to heatwaves, floods, droughts and other climate risks, though it is unclear whether it can secure the support and money needed to implement it.