Germany to launch flood relief program

The German government is set to launch a short-term relief program today to help those affected by record floods across Western Europe.

The German government will be readying more than $350 million in immediate relief and billions of dollars to fix the flood damage in the coming weeks.

The extreme weather leading to the floods has been attributed to climate change, prompting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to call for a redoubling of political focus on curbing climate change.  Although the European Union recently agreed on a package of steps towards net zero emissions by 2050, German politicians have used the floods as a reason to speed up the timeline.

With just over two months until the German election, expect climate change to take center stage. The floods are likely to benefit the Greens, who even before this week were set to make big gains in September’s poll. A Green-led governing coalition could reshape Germany’s climate targets, with the Greens expected to push for emissions to be cut by 70% by 2030.  A stricter climate policy from Germany could influence the acceptance and implementation of the European Green Deal, allowing the EU to become climate-neutral by the middle of the century.

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