Imminent Heat Period
On the current state of climate research and an imminent heat period co-chair of DIE LINKE, Bernd Riexinger, comments:
How is it possible that the consequences of climate change are not the political and media top issues, across the board and all parties? Only yesterday scientists warned of an imminent heat period; today "Astro Alex", astronaut Alexander Gerst, sends pictures from space depicting a partly dried up Europe. The system of crisis capitalism destroys the livelihood of people by massive overexploitation while its claqueurs either approve or even promote this development with a literal "After us, the flood" attitude.
The federal government is sitting the overdue energy transformation out. They spectacularly missed the 2020 climate goals. I have little hope for the 2030 climate goals. Yet, in September 2017, Chancellor Merkel reinforced her intention to reach the climate goal by 2020 and thereby reduce Germany's greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent. Now she distanced herself from that again. Coal energy is a climate killer. Germany urgently needs a carbon-neutral traffic system. But pursuing lobby politics is tying ones hands, as usual.
DIE LINKE demands an immediate action programme for a quick exit from coal and to set up a fund to secure the employees. Germany needs an investment programme for the expansion of public transport and a noticeble reduction of ticket prices up to a free public transport.