Germany’s cities call for carbon price, urge more rapid climate action

The Association of German Cities (Deutscher Städtetag) has called on the federal government to adopt a price on CO2 emissions as “an appropriate and necessary approach for achieving the climate targets more quickly.” At the association’s annual meeting, Städtetag head and Nuremberg mayor Ulrich Maly said climate protection and mitigation measures are a great challenge for cities in Germany and around the world and that cities could only fulfil their duty successfully if the federal government provides conducive regulation and funding that supports the cities’ climate actions. “Our planet needs our contribution to climate action,” Maly said, adding that many have experienced the Fridays for Future student climate protests on their own turf and are eager to accommodate demands for more ambitious climate action. “The federal government’s planned Climate Action Law has to bring a strong push forward to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” Maly added.

The debate about a carbon price has increasingly gained traction in Germany in recent months, with numerous policymakers, industrial companies and civil society organisations demanding it in one form or another. Chancellor Angela Merkel said her government’s so-called climate cabinet would make a decision over the summer whether it will pursue a carbon price or sectoral emissions reduction targets in order make progress on climate policy.