The Green party candidate, Annalena Baerbock, said that Germany needs to look for additional sources of revenue to tackle climate-related disasters as it is going to be costly.
Baerbock, who is expected to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany’s upcoming election, said the Greens want to invest significantly more in prevention “and that will cost money.”
“There’s no beating around the bush: protection against floods, rebuilding cities to make them resilient against climate change costs money,” she told reporters in Berlin.
Baerbock said the proposed measures could be paid for with money generated from carbon taxes or a softening of Germany’s debt rules — an idea the Union bloc has ruled out.
Baerbock also accused the Union bloc’s candidate, Armin Laschet, of having a “muddled” policy on climate change that she claimed, “is a threat not just to the security of the people in our country but also to Germany as a location for industry.”
The debate over climate change and its impact on Germany has been fueled by deadly floods that hit the country’s west earlier this month.
Last week, more than 180 people died in Western Europe due to the floods.
While about 157 German people died after the flood, only 31 from Belgium died. And about 163 people are still missing.
Other countries like France, Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland have also been affected by the worst flood Europe has been in living memory.
Experts say such disasters will become more severe and frequent as the planet heats up.
