Conservative state agriculture ministers demand 800 million euros to save German forests

Germany needs a “national master plan” to save its forests as carbon sinks and the federal government should provide 800 million euros over the coming four years to states, the agriculture ministers of Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony said in a statement. “Sustainable, active forest management is indispensable for climate protection in Germany,” they wrote after the meeting of state agriculture ministers from the conservative CDU/CSU alliance. They add that the repair of forest damage, reforestation and the adaptation of forests to the consequences of climate change are tasks for society as a whole.

Ahead of the meeting, federal agriculture minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) said dying forests mean that Germany is losing its “most important climate action ally”. Germany’s forests have recently shifted into the focus of German climate policy efforts, as prolonged droughts have begun to take a toll on the country’s biggest ecosystems. Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised funds from Germany’s climate and energy fund for reforestation.