Cologne – In Glasgow, politicians draw big lines, in the Ahr a forester shows his little world and in “Tough but fair” Frank Plasberg asks: “Diseased forests, flooded valleys: are you taking climate protection seriously now?”
The guests
►Peter wohlleben (57). The forester and author of books (“The Secret Life of Trees”) mocked his minister after the elections: “Julia Klöckner has just been fired: forests and animals breathe easy.”
►Anne Spiegel (40, green). Mainz’s Environment Minister said: “Extreme weather conditions, such as floods, have shown how important it is to act quickly.”
►Sebastian Lachmann (35). Cottbus mining and power plant operator LEAG industrial employee demands: “We don’t always need new and more radical goals, but finally plans we can trust!”
►Carla reemtsma (23). The climate activist (“Fridays for Future”) asked “Markus Lanz” five days ago to “radicalize the forms of action” of his troops.
►Dorothea Siems (58). The business journalist (WELT) warns: “CO2 emissions are increasing dramatically around the world. So it makes little sense if we look at ourselves. “
When it comes to the weather, the guest list is always great – more women than men, and only the talk show host is over 60. What does that mean for the Zoff-o-Meter?
Most controversial start-up helpers
Before the discussion begins, two forestry experts get into an ARD clip: forester Christoph Abs praises his wood as sustainable, because transport routes are short and former supplier countries now prefer to conserve their forests.
Wohlleben, for his part, criticized: “I think it is crazy that the solution to the fight against climate change is to cut down more trees!” “Trains. Sounds like a tie!
Most shocking document
Wohlleben then shows a mobile phone video from the day of the flood: Huge bodies of water flow through his mountain forest into the Ahr Valley. “I’ve never seen rain like this before,” he reports, visibly shocked.
The catastrophic consequences show television images of the small town of Schuld. A homeowner describes the devastating damage to the forester and boldly says, “We want to stay here!”
“Climate change is not as big an issue worldwide as it is in Germany,” said WELT journalist Dorothea Siems (58).Photo: ARD
Most alarming prophecy
Activist Reemtsma puts bad waters in her political mill: the Ahr flood shows “that we now have to take consistent climate protection measures to avoid much, much more of that fate,” she explains.
Because, according to the student: “The world is heating up. We are experiencing more weather disasters. Storms, floods, bad harvests. It will be much more dramatic! “
The most elegant evasive maneuver
Plasberg doesn’t seem very convinced. The guilty homeowner can hardly contribute anything in the fight against climate change, he says. Because your roof is too small for solar cells and a car with a combustion engine is indispensable for driving to work in Cologne. Your question: “What should these people do?”
The activist’s agile response: “That is the problem that we so often try to outsource the climate crisis and the burden of containing the climate crisis and reducing emissions to individual citizens. And that is simply absurd. We need consistent political action! “
The most bureaucratic information
Reemtsma’s demands: “Autobahn construction freeze. Early carbon removal. Avoid the entry of gas. Eliminate fossil subsidies. “Whoops! In the Ahr Valley, it is now about roads, bridges, heating, electricity.
Carla Reemtsma (23) is, among other things, spokesperson for the “Fridays For Future” climate movement.Photo: ARD
The minister is much closer: reconstruction “will take months and years,” he predicts. Their contribution to this certainly should not be underestimated: the “new temporary floodplain,” designated in accordance with federal water protection regulations, provides a framework for construction bans and requirements.
Most legitimate objection
“Climate change is not as important an issue worldwide as it is in Germany,” notes the WELT journalist. “With the removal of coal, we are faster than most countries.”
But that’s why his criticism: “We have made an exit from nuclear energy. Climate researchers see this very differently, because it is something that has set us back for the first time. “
Deeper analysis
“If we want to turn off the coal, we can do it today, but then the program will no longer be carried out today,” says the Lusatian expert.
What bothers Lachmann most is the political competition for an earlier exit from coal: “What we keep hearing is driving a new pig around town!” He complains. Germany is not ready for this yet, neither in terms of energy storage nor in the hydrogen economy.
Then the Zoff-o-Meter starts
Then Lausitz stabbed the hornet’s nest: “The politicians broached the issue before the elections,” he says of the flood disaster, “and said to blame everything on climate change …”
Oha! “That has been scientifically proven!” Reemtsma says indignantly.
“In the first place, it was the weather and not the climate,” says Lachmann impassively.
Sebastian Lachmann (35), industrial employee at Cottbus LEAG mining and power plant operator, said: “We are concentrating a lot on climate protection.”Photo: ARD
The most moralizing question
In the next, climate researchers predict significantly more river flooding, poor harvests, wildfires, or heat waves. Plasberg pleads with the man from Lusatia: “How do you face this prognosis for the future of your children?”
Lachmann would like to say something first on the question of weather or climate, but the talk show host does not tolerate delaying the carefully resolved moral question: “Please stick to the movie for now!” He cautions.
The Lusatian does not allow himself to be put on the bench: “We are concentrating a lot on climate protection,” he replies, “but we also have to look: What are we doing for climate adaptation?” That’s it!
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“We always look only at the CO2 balance”, complains the forester, in its three parts plus a kind of lord of the field, “the forests have a completely different function. Everyone can try it in their garden! “
And how? “On a hot 40-degree summer day, put up an umbrella and sit under it,” Wohlleben suggests. “And then comparatively under an old tree. You can feel on your skin that it is colder. “
His good news: “You can cool your own garden by a degree or two.” Hallelujah!
Green politician Anne Spiegel (40) says: “Extreme weather, like the flood disaster, has shown how important it is to act quickly.”Photo: ARD
The biggest personal disappointment
In the first decades, newly planted afforestation emits more CO2 from the soil than newly planted trees would absorb, Wohlleben informed the astonished audience.
Plasberg can’t believe it: “With me in the family, we planted 104 trees in the Eifel for our birthday, he stammered in dismay. “Well, we had a beer too, but we thought we were doing something good. I’m frustrated!”
The most complicated player
The following video is about the German contribution to the global climate. “CO2 emissions are only two percent,” he says. For comparison: “China more than 30 percent, the US just under 13 percent.”
But according to the smart information curve: “If you convert CO2 emissions to the inhabitants, it looks bad. At eight tons per capita, each person in Germany causes much more than the world average. “
The smartest counterattack
The talk show host is quick to warn Germans to “be honest and look in the mirror.”
But the WELT journalist quickly lets the hot air out of the fake balloon: “We are an industrialized country,” she explains with as much simplicity as it is truth. And: France, for example, “has 70 percent CO2-free nuclear energy.”
Farthest load
Lachmann explains the technical connections with the two environmental politicians: “You want to get out of coal by 2030, but currently half of us are still on the conventional grid. That means we need alternatives. “
Reemtsma waving his hands in outrage: You still stink of Lachmann’s gag with turning off the show. “If you are now trying to divert attention from climate protection efforts with horror stories about the blackout,” he bluntly tells experts, “then you are not calling for a fair structural change in Lusatia!”
Phew: offense is the best defense, you can learn that in kindergarten.
Most overdue idea
The WELT journalist dares to enter the contaminated area again: “Let the six nuclear power plants run more! Then you can be out on coal in 2030! “
Mocking laugh from Grün and FFF! However, Plasberg insists: “How false is it when we say that we are outside, but that we are buying nuclear energy from the neighbors?” His direct question to the minister: “Is it so you can laugh at that, Mrs. Spiegel?”
The most treacherous excuse
“It was quite a desperate laugh,” replied the green minister, “because at that time, as I was resolutely opposed to nuclear power, I got into politics in the first place.”
Hm, why should only the others learn, only the Greens shouldn’t? “In Germany we have to make sure that nuclear power is a thing of the past forever,” adds Spiegel defiantly.
Their concerns: dangerous technology, unresolved final disposal and, according to the minister, the phase-out must now be prepared internationally. Hm – in China? Russia? USA?
Forester and author Peter Wohlleben (57) mocked his minister after the elections: “Julia Klöckner has just been fired. Forests and animals breathe easy.”Photo: ARD
The crucial question of the night
Plasberg cannot be shaken: “Are the French blind?” He scoffs with obvious delight. “Do we have any other findings?”
The journalist assures that there is a great advance for nuclear energy in the EU.
“As minister of climate protection, I clearly say no!” Spiegel says annoyed, “and I have positioned myself that way.” Enough!
The proudest memory
The FFF activist also knows something to contribute: “In fact, an anti-nuclear demonstration was the first,” she reports.
“How old were you there?” Plasberg wants to know.
Answer: “Twelve”.
Smarter conclusion
“We can’t always discuss this whole topic in an emotionally charged way,” Lachmann sums up the debate. “Sometimes we have to stick to reality, to physics, and let all scientists lead this discourse, not always from a single branch.”
Because, according to the Lusatian: “That is always an excessive opinion for me. What we do not want is that we no longer have this standard of living, we are no longer the industrialized nation that created this prosperity. ” Amen!
Quote of the night
“It’s going to be very expensive!” Frank Plasberg
Conclusion: cheap sayings, flat slogans, fossil arguments. That was a talk in the tree science category: “The greener the wood, the thicker the smoke.”
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