Andreas Kluth, Columnist

Germany Is Holding Up Europe’s Ban on Combustion Engines. Good.

Berlin is once again frustrating its European partners, but this time it has a point. Hear me out.

March 17, 2023 at 5:00 AM UTC

Andreas Kluth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US diplomacy, national security and geopolitics. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist.

Move over, Greta — the Germans are here. — Move over, Greta — the Germans are here.
Photographer: John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images

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We all want to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. And hardly anybody is as enthusiastic in that quest as the European Union and, within it, Germany. The EU aims to be carbon-neutral by 2050, Germany by 2045.

So imagine the scandal: Germany is blocking EU policies meant to help reach these climate goals. And the shame: Germany is once again placing its own economic interests above its responsibility to lead.