Shortly before the EU Commission's deadline for submitting a national climate social plan, Green Party leader Felix Banaszak wrote a letter to Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD).

"This national climate social plan is a prerequisite for the Federal Republic of Germany to be able to access available funds from the EU Climate Social Fund amounting to 5.3 billion euros starting in 2026," Banaszak writes in the letter, which the "Tagesspiegel" (Sunday edition) reports. It is "increasingly unclear" whether the funds intended to mitigate the social impacts of climate policy will be accessed on time. Because of the rising CO2 price, which makes heating and fueling more expensive, social compensation is necessary, Banaszak argued: "This is the only way to maintain broad social acceptance of the upcoming second European emissions trading system in our society." As the "Tagesspiegel" reports, citing government sources, the climate social plan has not yet been fully submitted on time.

The Federal Ministry for the Environment and Climate Protection stated that it is working on such a plan. It does not expect Germany to miss out on EU funds. Other countries are also failing to meet the EU Commission's deadline.