UN climate conference in Antalya: No future chancellor

Friedrich Merz is not going to this year's World Climate Conference. The Chancellor had already decided on this before the start of COP 31 in Antalya, Turkey. And that is also consistent: Merz doesn't give a damn about humanity's most pressing problem. The Chancellor is a politician from the 20th century who still practices politics like in the last century. Instead of ushering in a low-greenhouse future, he and his cabinet are prolonging the fossil fuel economy that global warming brought us in the first place.

A year ago, at the COP 30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil, Chancellor Merz promised a “significant contribution” that the Federal Republic would make to the countries of the Global South to pay off the debts of the industrialized countries. In fact, the Merz government then cut back on climate funds. So it's actually smart that Merz doesn't travel to Antalya: he'll be spared the embarrassment on the world stage.

The real scandal about Friedrich Merz's rejection of the UN climate summit is that he believes he can get away with it. In fact, the hot summer with 16,000 deaths did not lead to a storm of indignation driving the electorate onto the streets. While every cowardly attack with dead or injured people is analyzed and evaluated for weeks, the heat deaths only cause the majority to shrug their shoulders wearily. We don't have to look at the Himalayas, where melting glaciers are wiping out entire valleys. This hot summer, the lowest temperatures, the dying forests show that something is now out of sync.

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

And while climate change takes on a life of its own, we are still discussing the end of combustion engines. Stop it! We have known the solution for a long time and are already practicing parts of it. If the Union only wants to shape the future with yesterday's concepts, it will lose even more importance in this country. A chancellor who does not travel to the World Climate Conference cannot be a chancellor of the future.