Neustrelitz (dpa/mv) – With an event in the State Center for Renewable Energies (Leea) in Neustrelitz, the state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is starting the public dialogue on the announced climate protection law. “Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wants to be climate-neutral by 2040. By 2035, we want to cover the entire energy requirement of the state for electricity, heat and mobility from renewable sources. And the state administration should be climate-neutral by 2030,” said Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) at the Opening, which she attended together with Environment Minister Till Backhaus (SPD). This should be made mandatory. According to Schwesig, the aim of the participation of the population is to collect ideas and absorb impulses.
The state government intends to present a first draft of the law before the end of the year. The law should contain concrete targets for the areas of energy, transport, buildings, industry as well as agriculture and waste management. As Backhaus explained in the state parliament in March, the use of fossil fuels should be replaced by renewable energies, but mobility, heat and electricity should still remain affordable for the citizens.
The Prime Minister also emphasized on Saturday that climate protection is a social issue: “It is right to set incentives for climate-friendly behavior, but that must not lead to citizens with low incomes being disconnected”.
The energy and climate policy spokesman for the Greens in the state parliament, Hannes Damm, called on the state government to present an ambitious law: “The process in MV requires an ambitious state climate protection law with interim goals that can be billed annually, sector-specific specifications and effective monitoring.” Turning to Environment Minister Backhaus, he added with a view to the goal of a maximum of 1.5 degrees of global warming mentioned in the Paris climate agreement: “The clock is ticking, Till.”
