Germany's right-wing populist AfD says climate action criticism to be major campaign issue
Welt am Sonntag
Germany鈥檚 right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has made its critique of policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect the global climate a major issue in its political strategy. 鈥淎fter the euro and immigration, criticism of the so-called climate action policy is the third major issue for the AfD,鈥� party co-head Alexander Gauland聽. Gauland doubts the scientific consensus that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are a key driver of global warming. "Of course" the global climate is changing, but that humans play an "essential role" through CO2 emissions is "at least controversial鈥�, he said.
About 99 percent of climate scientists say that human action has been the main cause of global warming since the middle of the 20thcentury, the federal government told the AfD . AfD leadership at the federal and state level have long questioned human influence on the climate. In a recent poll by public broadcaster ZDF, however, more than a quarter of AfD voters said the government's new 2030 climate action plan doesn鈥檛 go far enough in terms of emissions reduction.
