Bavaria's CSU calls for doubling down on climate action despite pandemic

The CSU – Bavarian sister party to chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU – is calling for more ambitious climate action, even in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. In party meeting resolutions, it advocated for a raise of the national CO2 reduction target of 55 percent to 60 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. During a party meeting on 7 January, the leader of the CSU parliamentary group, Alexander Dobrindt, said it is necessary to take an even “stronger approach to climate protection measures” than has been planned so far, reports Focus Online. "The coronavirus pandemic must not be used as an excuse to slacken on climate action measures now," Dobrindt explained during the meeting in Berlin. In its resolutions, the CSU wrote that climate protection measures must be demonstrably effective and take a market-based approach. The party also advocates for emissions trading for the heating and transport sectors to be introduced at the European level, following the German example.

After losing voters to the Greens in the 2018 Bavarian state elections CSU leader Söder started started to present himself as a progressive climate leader, openly courting the Green Party for a possible coalition in the next government after the parliamentary elections in Sepetember. According to polls in early 2021, most people in Germany consider Söder to be the best fit for following Merkel as chancellor from the conservative camp after she leaves office in autumn.
Last year, EU leaders agreed to raise the emissions reduction target to ‘at least 55 percent’ by 2030 compared to 1990. The target has yet to be officially decided in talks with the European Parliament, which has voted for a reduction of 60 percent. A new target at the European level would mean that national efforts also have to be increased.