Flooding Adds to Germans’ Disillusion With ‘Climate Chancellor’

摘要

Angela Merkel’s slow-motion departure from the German political stage took an ironic turn in April as the chancellor tripped over a climate law she herself had drawn up. In a shockdecision, judges on the country’s highest court ruled that Merkel’s faltering attempts to rewire the energy system away from fossil fuels would saddle future generations with the burdenof cutting emissions. Merkel—once hailed as a climate leader, now denounced as a straggler—was ordered to speed things up.Merkel’s cautious approach threatened the fundamental rights of young people “to a human future,” the judges said, ruling in favor of plaintiff Sophie Backsen, a 22-year-old farmer whoseisland home of Pellworm off Germany’s North Sea coast might disappear because of rising sea levels. Shaken by the decision, Merkel spent the following weekend in quiet contemplationwhile she pondered a response.