Merkel Party Head Says Balanced-Budget Goal Remains in Force

The head of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said Germany doesn’t need deficit spending to combat climate change, though incentives to reduce carbon emissions should be overhauled.

Ensuring sustainability includes a balanced budget as well as policies that lead to “climate neutrality,” Christian Democratic Union chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a column in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. She suggested capping CO2 emissions for vehicles and buildings while easing German taxes and other levies on energy and increasing incentives for clean-energy upgrades.