Climate policy of the federal government: Mr. Merz, please get in your jet NOW!

Dear Friedrich Merz, I would like to ask you to get on your private plane, take a heavenly lap over the Federal Republic, with a few earthly stops in Freiburg, Rostock and so on.

Excuse me, yes, I know this is an unusual request. Your silver Diamond DA62 usually triggers rather harshly – harmful luxury and all. And you don't fly as often anymore. Mainly for safety reasons. Less to protect the climate. But now that's exactly what it's all about - this one flight should actually help the climate.

It's dicey. Do you read the picture? Certainly. Even Bild, completely unsuspecting of the ecological alarm, has reported that, according to the United Nations, the earth is heading for 2.8 degrees of warming. That has a lot to do with Trump, yes. He thinks climate protection is nonsense. But: Germany isn't that much better. Your Federal Minister of Economics, Katherina Reiche, only dissolved the department for wind, solar and transformation industries at the beginning of October. This irritated many people, you may have noticed that.

Of course, it's a numbers thing. 2.8 degrees. Kind of big. But to laypeople like you and me, that actually means little, and certainly nothing to the heart. That doesn't speak against numbers per se, not that. Politics doesn't work without scientific foundation, right? They should be factual and analytical. So be sure not to fall for those who are currently trying to discredit researchers. Just rarely touch numbers. And that's what it's all about at the moment. Everyone is demanding that people be taken with them. Hard, sure. In this case, however, you can even take it literally.

For example, invite your economics minister to come along. Fill up the tank, buckle up, and then go! Start of Arnsberg-Menden airfield in the Sauerland. Then always south, first destination Freiburg, University Hospital.

There you look for Thorsten Hammer, the disaster control officer. When it got blazing hot this summer, he quickly set up a task force to try to cool down the hottest rooms. He also had an evacuation plan; if necessary, affected patients would have been taken to an air-conditioned exhibition hall. Luckily it didn't get that far, you wouldn't wish that on any patient. Talk to Hammer.

Afterwards, treat yourself to an affogato, an espresso with a scoop of ice cream. You like it so much. Then fly on to Lake Constance. It's shrinking. High temperatures, high evaporation and hardly any rain. This is putting a strain on Germany's largest lake. Little came from the Alps because the winter had little snow and meltwater was rare. It may look beautiful from above when new beaches emerge and the water recedes. But to this extent?

Now a detour to business, to Saarland. Low-CO₂ steel will soon be produced there. Saarstahl is investing billions in this and receives funding from the federal and state governments. Meet Stephan Ahr, the chairman of the group works council, who helped drive the ecological restructuring and even convinced the workforce to accept cuts.

But he is worried that you want to weaken emissions trading, which would make more climate-friendly production worthwhile. Ahr and the 14,000 steel workers he represents see themselves as climate pioneers who would now be punished. Let us explain this again.

It's a stretch from Saarland to Rostock. But this might be interesting for you: In the largest city in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, they are thinking about desalinating Baltic Sea water on a large scale in order to supply it to drought-stricken Brandenburg and Berlin.

What consequences global warming is already having! Today it is only at 1.37 degrees.

This text first appeared in wochentaz, our weekly newspaper from the left!

Every week, wochentaz is about the world as it is – and as it could be. A left-wing weekly newspaper with a voice, attitude and the special taz view of the world. New every Saturday at the kiosk and of course by subscription.

So please fly back to Berlin and talk to younger people there about how they see the world and what scares them. Then have a special meeting with your cabinet. Tell us what you saw – and decide on wind and solar power, on green in the cities, and on quickly phasing out combustion engines.

Oh, I don't even have to list it all. You've been in the business long enough and you know what to do.