🚨🇩🇪 BREAKING: German Parliament enshrines 2045 net-zero in constitution 🇩🇪🚨

🏆 Just the boost of optimism and hope we needed! Passing the necessary two thirds majority (513 in favour, 207 against, no abstentions), Germany becomes - to my knowledge - the first country in the world to cement its net-zero target in its constitution (Grundgesetz).

🌍 Why is this huge? Just a few weeks ago, there was wide concern that Germany might follow wider geopolitical trends and backtrack on its 2045 commitment, shifting it to 2050. Instead, it has now done the opposite: enshrined it in the most visible and long-lasting way possible.

🏛️ And there is more: the Bundestag also agreed to amend its “debt break” (Schuldenbremse), which has been limiting the federal government's structural deficit to 0.35% of GDP annually in order to borrow €500 billion over 12 years to fund huge spending increases in defense and infrastructure.

💶 €100 billion of these will go specifically to the climate transformation fund (Klima- und Transformationsfonds - KTF) in order to achieve the constitutional net-zero target by 2045.

⏰ Against all this incredible news, it is now time to ACT: we have to make sure we use this once in a generation opportunity best we can. This means spending the €100b correctly.

🙏 My request: at least 5% or €5b have to go towards carbon dioxide removal (CDR), reflecting the percentage of residual emissions Germany expects in 2045. And at least €1b of that needs to be invested into the immediate scale up of CDR in Germany in the next 24 months.

📣 To achieve this goal, the Deutscher Verband für negative Emissionen e.V. (DVNE) has launched the Think Negative campaign: “Think Negative for a Positive Future” - make sure to check it out here: https://lnkd.in/d6E5rPCX

💚 Exciting times! Just the boost of energy us climate advocates needed. Like/comment/share this post to make sure we go far and wide, spreading the important message that there is no net-zero without CDR!

🤔 What is your take? Will this put Germany on an Autobahn towards net-zero and turn it into the global leader in the fight against climate change?

✒️ Note: the German regions (Bundesrat) also have to ratify this decision on Friday, but this is expected to be just a formality.

💡 Want to stay informed with all the important CDR developments in Germany and beyond? Be sure to subscribe to my monthly newsletter, the GigaTen: https://lnkd.in/d2BKe7gr

Follow the conversation