Schneider calls for stronger heat protection and natural rivers

According to Schneider, near-natural river floodplains can retain water and thereby help in adapting to global warming. The proposal aims to stop treating rivers primarily as canals and instead make greater use of their natural functions.

Rivers should become natural again

Schneider also commented on the link between climate protection and the economy. He said: "Jeder, der bisher behauptet hat, Klimaschutz schadet der Wirtschaft, erlebt heute, dass kein vorhandener Klimaschutz der Wirtschaft schadet."

With this statement, Schneider pushed back against the notion that climate protection is fundamentally harmful to the economy. He countered that existing climate protection does not harm the economy.

Climate protection and the economy

The proposals therefore concern two levels: a possible amendment to the Basic Law and concrete measures regarding rivers. Schneider links the legal strengthening of heat protection with a near-natural restructuring designed to retain water across the land.

The proposal is directed at Germany's political institutions. Whether and in what form a constitutional amendment will actually be implemented does not emerge from the available facts.

The material also contains no information on specific responsibilities, financing, or a timetable. What is clear is that Schneider wants to anchor heat protection in the Basic Law and to restore rivers more extensively.