Some 308 tonnes of CO2 were emitted during flights by German government officials and officials to and from the COP27 global climate summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. These calculations were provided by the German Foreign Ministry in response to an inquiry from former AfD MP Joana Cotar. The content of the response was obtained by the DPA agency.

The COP27 climate conference was held from November 6 to 18. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the calculated amount of emissions includes all flights that took place during this period in connection with the participation of members of the government in the conference. It concerns both the flights of three machines of the government fleet, as well as the flights of ministers and their collaborators on regular planes. The calculations also include emissions resulting from subsequent flights to other countries, for example to park the machine.

“Absurdity and waste”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Development Minister Svenja Schulze and their associates traveled to Egypt on government planes. Other German government representatives traveled to COP27 on cruise ships.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also points out that “all CO2 emissions generated in the context of business trips by members of the government” are compensated by the Federal Office for the Environment. This policy has been applied by the German government since 2014; for example, for 2020, the German government has offset 175,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions related to business travel.

MP Joana Cotar, who recently left the AfD, accused the German government of being “fanciful”. “By going to the climate conference, the federal government caused as much CO2 emissions as the average German would produce by driving a car for 150 years,” Cotar said, as quoted by DPA. “In the age of videoconferencing, this is absurd and a huge waste of politicians’ money,” she added.

DPA/ spectator

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