The federal government wants to invest four billion euros in the ecosystems

Berlin With 69 measures in ten fields of action, the federal government wants to improve the condition of the ecosystems in Germany and thus strengthen their resilience to the climate crisis. At noon, the Federal Cabinet passed the “Natural Climate Protection” action program presented by Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens).

In this way, the federal government wants to counteract the twin ecological crises of global warming and species extinction and contribute to achieving the goal of climate neutrality by 2045. Natural climate protection focuses on protecting nature and helps mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. The federal government is providing four billion euros for this by 2026.

Intact ecosystems are natural climate protectors. Forests, floodplains, soil, moors, bodies of water and green spaces bind carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it for the long term. They are also a habitat for numerous plant and animal species and in this way act as a buffer against the consequences of climate change, for example by keeping water in the landscape and storing it during times of drought and cooling down in hot weather.

Federal Environment Minister Lemke said: “Every day nature provides us with so many vital services. But only as long as ecosystems are intact.”

Among other things, the program provides for the rewetting of moors in order to raise the water level there again, as well as the conversion of vulnerable coniferous forests into mixed forests. One of the first measures is the establishment of a competence center where, for example, landowners can obtain information about funding opportunities in their region.

Conflict between land protection and land requirements

Lemke had already outlined the main features of the program in August last year. Since then she has used the time to involve associations and citizens in the discussion and to ensure unity in the coalition. She had recently succeeded in doing this with the National Water Strategy. Both projects are anchored in the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP.

Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke

With the new action program and the national water strategy, Lemke has already implemented two projects from the coalition agreement.

(Photo: dpa)

Skepticism about the action program abounds. For example, the German Farmers’ Association warned that nature conservation measures cost agricultural production areas and could lead to climate-damaging relocation of production. “The action program must under no circumstances become a set-aside program for agricultural land,” said Farmers’ President Joachim Rukwied. He called for economic incentives for voluntary climate protection measures well beyond 2030, for example when moors are rewetted.

>> Read here: Forests, moors, bodies of water: Environment Minister Lemke presents the natural climate protection action program

The Union had previously pointed out a conflict of objectives between more and more land protection on the one hand and the need for land for food production on the other. The environmental policy spokeswoman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Anja Weisgerber, warned that more food would have to be imported in the future because of set-aside areas.

Biodiversity: Only slowly an issue for the economy

In business, the topic of natural climate protection is only slowly gaining ground. “The economy must deal more with the issue of biodiversity,” said Tobias Raffel, Director of the Future Institute at the international business university ESMT Berlin. So far, according to Raffel, only five percent of the world’s 500 largest companies have set biodiversity targets, compared to 83 percent for the climate issue.

>> Read here: Start of the World Conservation Conference in Montreal: That’s what it’s all about

The economist reminded that half of the global gross domestic product depends on the services of nature. He warned against seeing the issue as a mere appendage to a climate protection strategy. “It needs its own biodiversity strategy,” he told the Handelsblatt.

According to Raffel, the biodiversity conference in Montreal in Canada in December was a “wake-up call” for many companies. Since then, an increasing number of companies have been seriously considering the issue, said Raffel. “Anyone who leads now is not only better prepared for the forthcoming regulation, but can also achieve competitive advantages.”

More: Environmental and climate protection also help against pandemics

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