Germany’s Merkel wants green recovery from coronavirus crisis

BERLIN, April 28 (Reuters) - Governments should focus on climate protection when considering fiscal stimulus packages to support an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday.

Angela Merkel.

Her comments are the clearest sign yet that Merkel wants to combine the task of helping companies recover from the pandemic with the challenge of setting more incentives for reducing carbon emissions.

Speaking at a virtual climate summit known as the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, Merkel said she expected difficult discussions about how to design post-crisis stimulus measures and about which business sectors need more help than others.

"It will be all the more important that if we set up economic stimulus programmes, we must always keep a close eye on climate protection," Merkel said, adding the focus should be laid on supporting modern technologies and renewable energies.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the conference there could be an opportunity for the world in the "dark times" of the coronavirus crisis.

Read the Reuters story - “Germany’s Merkel wants green recovery from coronavirus crisis."

All man-made': Merkel vows to keep fighting against climate change

Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is fighting climate change with all her strength to enable future generations to live in peace and prosperity.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel poses for media after
the recording of her annual New Year's speech at the Chancellery in Berlin.

"Global warming is real. It is threatening," Merkel said in the recorded New Year's speech due to be broadcasted on Tuesday evening. Rising world temperatures and the problems created by global warming are all man-made, Merkel added.

Read the story from The Age by Michael Nienaber - “‘All man-made': Merkel vows to keep fighting against climate change.”