Berlin unveils climate package as hundreds of thousands take to the streets

Press quote (The Wall Street Journal)
Christian Odendahl
20 September 2019

“This is economic madness and at the same time, expected. The balanced budget has such a high political significance that no one dares to go against it. Not even for the climate, at a time of negative interest rates,” said Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a think tank.Mr. Odendahl said financing green subsidies with carbon dioxide revenues was a zero-sum redistribution scheme, and that the allegiance to “black zero”—as Germany’s goal of maintaining a balanced budget is known—would automatically lead to a lower carbon price.