Referring to an interview with Minister President Haseloff in the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper this past Sunday, Madeleine Linke, state chair of Alliance 90/The Greens Saxony-Anhalt, states:
“From the very beginning, we have criticized the current state government’s lack of ambition when it comes to climate protection. Effective climate protection must take place at all levels – from the municipality to the EU.”
In the interview, the Minister President had stated that the “topic of climate” in the east ranked “far behind” among people. As an explanation, he cited successes in environmental protection in the 1990s. To this Linke continued:
“Environmental protection is not to be equated with climate protection. We need both! The prime minister should rather point with pride to the environmental policy successes that existed in the east shortly after the reunification. After all, it is not only nature that benefits from the now clean rivers and the air that can once again be breathed without hesitation, but also the people.
We need an encouraging leader at the top of the state government. I hope that Minister President Haseloff will use this positive ‘spirit’ to point out the opportunities that climate protection offers in concrete terms for the everyday lives of people here in eastern Germany. After all, climate protection is also an economic and thus a job engine.”