For Germans heading to the polls for a snap election, climate is not quite as important a factor as it used to be.

Europe’s top official on climate action says the rest of the world must hold steady on decarbonisation and the transition to renewable energy in the face of “global turmoil”.

After months of wrangling over public debt and spending decisions, the German government collapsed in November 2024. Among the many disagreements between the parties that made up the governing coalition was how to pay for measures to combat climate change.

Environmental issues did not feature prominently the election campaign— unlike the last time around.When the coalition government comprising the center-left Social Democratic Party, Greens and neoliberal Free Democratic Party emerged after the last German federal election in the fall of 2021,

One of the world’s most climate-ambitious governments is about to fall, replaced by a likely chancellor who says green policy went too far.

The center-right CDU is expected to emerge triumphant in a campaign that has made little mention of environmental issues.

Stop AAPI, the largest organisation in the US to track such data, says the climate of anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric from US President Donald Trump and his allies has resulted in “an alarming surge” of online hate, which was directed mainly towards South Asian communities.

Last month, he brought a nonbinding motion calling for many more migrants to be turned back at Germany's borders to parliament. The motion was approved thanks to votes from AfD – marking a first in post-war Germany which prompted opponents to accuse Mr Merz of breaking a taboo. He rejects the criticism.

German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the elections after chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence on 15 January – after losing the support of his coalition when he fired finance minister Christian Lindner amid tensions over economic policy.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party submitted to parliament on Thursday a climate change-related bill envisaging the establishment of a carbon market board and an emissions trading system,

Jobs, incomes and Germany's flagging economy are major focuses for the country's political parties ahead of elections this month, with many taking aim at climate-protection measures. Friedrich ...

In the run-up to the general election on February 23 2025, migration and the economy are the most important issues for voters (each on 34%), with climate change lagging far behind (13%).