In a joint press release, Bread for the World, Diakonia Deutschland, the Protestant Church in Germany and the Ecumenical Network for Climate Justice have commented on the new version of the German Sustainable Development Strategy (DNS).
The German Sustainability Strategy was published in 2017 and has now been updated for the third time. It is based on the goals of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It focuses on sustainable and future-proof development in Germany and the impact of German trade on other countries. In the latter area in particular, the mid-term balance is very poor, meaning that a revision and increase in ambition is necessary.
The draft for the revised German Sustainable Development Strategy (DNS) has now been published by the German government. The public and stakeholders from society, business and science are invited to comment on the draft and contribute ideas for a sustainable and future-proof Germany.
The Protestant Church in Germany, the aid organization Bread for the World, Diakonia Germany and the Ecumenical Network for Climate Justice have welcomed the new version as an important further development to ensure that sustainable development in Germany is better anchored internationally and embedded in all policy areas. However, these organizations point out that some areas need to be given much more attention. A strategy of “enough” and concrete political steps towards a reduced level of consumption and production are missing. Without this reduction, the sustainability goals cannot be achieved. Furthermore, although environmentally and climate-damaging subsidies are mentioned in the DNS, they are given too little weight. Abolishing socially unjust subsidies that are harmful to the environment and climate would free up considerable sums that could be invested in climate protection for the common good.
Instead, according to the alliance, savings are being made on the poorest – both in social policy in Germany and in development cooperation worldwide - and inequalities are being perpetuated and further increased.
In the international arena, it is an important step forward that so-called spillover effects are named in each chapter, thus highlighting the impact of Germany's actions on other countries. It would be logical to include new spillover indicators, but these were not included in the dialog version. One thing is clear: “More sustainability in Germany leads to more global justice. Our partner organizations around the world therefore have high expectations of the German Sustainability Strategy,” says Dagmar Pruin, President of Bread for the World.
