“Fair share”: Germany pays 9.9 billion euros for international climate rescue
In 2023, Germany invested 9.9 billion euros in international climate finance to support other countries in climate protection measures and in adapting to climate change. Robert Habeck reported this "fair share" to the European Union on Friday on behalf of the German government.
According to a press release from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (BMWK), 3.8 billion euros came in the form of loans from, among others, the state-owned Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau and the German Investment and Development Company. 5.7 billion euros were provided by the federal government as development aid. A further 475 million euros came from private funds.
Back in 2020, then-Chancellor Angela Merkel made a commitment that Germany would invest six billion euros annually in international climate protection. Her successor Olaf Scholz has maintained the commitment. The approximately six billion euros make up just over one percent of the federal budget.
The projects supported by Germany could hardly be more different. For example, Germany is helping Albania with the “establishment of climate-friendly schools in Tirana” with 270,000 euros, and India with sustainable mobility with a total of 18 million euros.
The KFW Bank, for example, has given Brazil a loan of 100 million euros to expand public transport in the emerging country. Even though the money is a loan, such development loans are offered at reduced interest rates. Repayment is quite questionable. So far, Germany has forgiven a total of 25,104,720,000 euros in debt to other countries by December 31, 2023.
Particularly against the backdrop of the current budget crisis and a billion-euro deficit that the traffic light coalition is only trying to plug with budget tricks such as expected growth, such budget-burdening expenditure is coming more into the public spotlight. Germany's commitment to invest six billion euros annually in international climate finance is at a similar level to France's spending, but far above that of Great Britain. The island state invested just 2.1 billion euros in the area in 2023.
According to the press release from the BMWK, Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze sees the spending as a "commandment of common sense". With a view to the World Climate Conference, it is important that those "who have not previously been among the classic donors" also do more for climate protection. Schulze welcomes the "Brazilian proposal for a globally coordinated taxation of the ultra-rich" - it "should become an important part of the solution."
According to the press statement, Robert Habeck hopes that developing and emerging countries will use the funding to "first and foremost make their own energy supply climate-neutral." He said that "numerous countries will be advised on concrete steps to expand renewable energies, hydrogen production and a sustainable, climate-friendly infrastructure."
Source: Apollo News
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