The German cabinet on Wednesday approved climate protection measures designed to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions, keeping on track plans by Chancellor Angela Merkel to pass the landmark package this year. German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze took to Twitter to announce the approval of the measures, which would be enshrined in a Climate Protection Law.
The approval is a relief for Merkel, whose right-left coalition has suffered regional elections losses and been riven by disputes over pension and tax reforms. The parties plan a review of their loveless marriage by the end of the year.
"Finally there are binding rules for climate protection - and that's a good thing. I have fought for this for a long time and I am happy that it was approved today," Schulze wrote on Twitter.
As Merkel and her ministers met at the chancellery, hundreds of Extinction Rebellion climate activists blocked a major bridge nearby on the third day of global protests designed to press governments to take more drastic action against global warming.
-Reuters, Berlin