Youth organisations call for fair climate policy for all generations ahead of German elections

Twenty-seven youth organisations from the fields of climate, social affairs, trade unions, development, religion, civil protection, environment and sport have called on parties competing in the February snap election in Germany to support a climate policy that is socially just and fair for all generations.

“The current political discussions about climate protection are backward-looking, increase uncertainty and are not appropriate to the extent of the climate crisis, which has long been noticeable,” they said in a joint appeal.

The organisations, including youth chapters of church organisations, environmental NGOs and the activist group Fridays for Future, demanded more funds for climate action through a reform of Germany’s debt limit and higher taxes for the super wealthy. “The dogmatic austerity policy of recent years and decades is not intergenerational justice,” they said. The youth also called for prioritising investments in public transport, a gradual phase out of fossil fuels and the ambitious rollout of renewable energy sources.

In a landmark ruling in 2021, Germany’s constitutional court argued that weak German climate policy was unfair to young people and future generations, as it “irreversibly offloaded major emission reduction burdens” on them. The case had been brought on by youth climate activists and resulted in the German government pulling the target year for reaching greenhouse gas neutrality forward by five years, from 2050 to 2045.