Climate protection in MV: Red-red fights for solutions by 2045!

Climate protection in MV: Red-red fights for solutions by 2045!

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, things are simmering behind the scenes of the red-red government. On November 3, 2025, the state government under the leadership of Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig will be faced with the challenge of comparing its promising climate protection paths with reality. We are currently working hard on a climate protection law that originally envisaged net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2040, but is now to be increased to 2045. The state government emphasizes that climate protection cannot be achieved through coercion, as is the case Baltic Sea newspaper reported.

The draft of the new “Climate Compatibility Act MV” now provides for a gradual reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions, with clear interim targets by 2040 - including a reduction of 38 percent by 2030 and 75 percent by 2035. Experts were actively involved in the development process, which began with a kick-off event in Neustrelitz in 2022. The digital participation process ended in April 2023 and face-to-face conferences followed. The MV Climate Foundation emphasizes that municipalities and districts should also be obliged to develop their own climate protection concepts.

Criticism and challenges

However, there is also sharp criticism of the government. Constanze Oehlrich, chairwoman of the Green parliamentary group, considers the new law to be a “declaration of climate policy bankruptcy”. In addition, CDU state and parliamentary group leader Daniel Peters expressed dissatisfaction with the progress made so far and called for a revision of the coalition agreement. Hanseatic city of Rostock also shows concerns about the maritime industry and the focus on the arms business, as in the Baltic Sea newspaper documented.

There is also a lot of need for discussion with regard to digitalization and de-bureaucratization. The umbrella organization of entrepreneurs in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is also calling for a stronger focus on these issues, while the collective bargaining and procurement law means that public contracts may only be awarded to companies bound by collective agreements in the future. This regulation has received a lot of criticism, particularly from business owners.

Achievements and outlook

Nevertheless, the red-red-green coalition can point to some successes: a 400 million euro program for school construction, lowering the voting age to 16 and the introduction of a public holiday for women are just some of the positive measures that have already come into force. However, many decisions are still pending before the elections in autumn 2026, including the double budget for 2026/27 and the tourism law that is currently being planned, which has so far been a long time coming.

It remains exciting in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the near future will show whether the climate protection goals set can be achieved and whether the government can live up to the criticism. Citizens are invited to have their say, because their opinions are absolutely included in the new climate protection law in order to ensure broad acceptance and successful implementation.