Greens Slam Klingbeil for Budget Deceptions over Climate Fund
Finance Minister Klingbeil under fire for budget deceit; Green Party accuses Klingbeil of budgetary chicanery - Finance Minister accused of budgetary deceptions by The Greens party
Katharina Droge, Green parliamentary group leader, and Andreas Audretsch took aim at Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and his budget planning during the ZDF "Morning Magazine." They criticized the black-red coalition for using the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), intended for climate protection, to subsidize dirty gas instead.
Droge maintained, "The financial tricks of Merz and Klingbeil undermine climate protection and future technologies," adding, "That would be things that the CDU and SPD could tackle with priority, making life more affordable for people."
Audretsch echoed Droge's concerns, stating, "Subsidies for dirty gas are to be funded in the future from the Climate and Transformation Fund, then there's no money left to support people in energy renovation or to promote the installation of heat pumps."
The budget draft by Klingbeil outlines new debt of €81.8 billion for the federal government this year (2025), followed by a deficit of €89.3 billion in 2026. The defense budget is set to more than double by 2029, surging to €152.8 billion.
Critics claim Klingbeil plans to pay for the gas storage surcharge, currently financed via the electricity price, from the KTF, effectively subsidizing fossil energy carriers. This practice, the Greens argue, blurs the real financial impact of budgetary decisions and obscures the government's true obligations.
In a broader context, the controversy revolves around complex financial maneuvers in the new budget that could obscure the true scale of expenditures and the future financial obligations. The 2025 draft budget includes a significant increase in spending funded by new debt and special funds, including the KTF. This fund is part of a broader strategy to finance climate and infrastructure goals through dedicated special funds and revised debt rules. However, these budgetary tactics, like subsidizing gas prices from the KTF, can be seen as budget tricks because they effectively shift costs into the future or off the main budget balance, potentially disguising the real financial impact today.
- Lars Klingbeil (SPD)
- Alliance 90/The Greens
- Budget
- Climate
- Andreas Audretsch
- Future
- Financial Planning
- Katharina Droge
- Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF)
- Gas Subsidies
- SPD
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/green-germany-enersg/stalling-climate-transition-via-policy-inaction-can-cost-trillions-report-says-2021-05-07/[2] https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-launch-climate-transformation-fund-to-reach-climate-neutrality-by-2045/a-58315785
- The Greens, led by Katharina Droge and Andreas Audretsch, have criticized Lars Klingbeil, the Finance Minister, for using the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) for subsidizing fossil fuels instead of climate protection, questioning the long-term financial implications of such budgetary decisions.
- In the broader political landscape, the controversy surrounding Lars Klingbeil's budget draft is centered on complex financial maneuvers that may obscure the true scale of expenditures and the future financial obligations, with subsidies for gas prices from the KTF being a point of contention as it can be seen as a budget trick, potentially disguising the real financial impact today.
