German-Czech environmental commission to intensify cooperation on climate action, environmental protection and nature conservation
Today, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry, and her Czech counterpart, Deputy Minister of Environment Vladislav Smrž, reaffirmed the close German-Czech cooperation on environmental protection. The focus at the 16th meeting of the German-Czech Joint Environmental Commission in Berlin, where Saxony and Bavaria were also participants, was on discussion of current EU dossiers and transboundary cooperation on nature conservation and air quality control.
Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter commented: "Cooperation between Germany and the Czech Republic on climate and environment shows that joint problem-solving works in the EU. Whether biodiversity preservation, management of national parks or climate action efforts are at issue – as European neighbours we must take a joint approach to these kinds of tasks in order to make tangible progress."
The bilateral consultation focussed on topics discussed at EU level such as increased efforts in EU climate action, the EU strategy on plastic waste and the recent legislative draft on single-use plastics. The start-up Recup provided an outside perspective; the company is building up a waste-preventing deposit system for coffee cups in several large German cities and is also attracting interest in other European countries.
Both Czechia and Germany attach a high importance to bilateral and transboundary cooperation. The two government officials were pleased about the excellent cooperation between the two national parks, Šumava (Bohemian Forest) and Bayerischer Wald (Bavarian Forest). These two national parks form the largest contiguous semi-natural forest area in central Europe. Germany and Czechia plan to continue to take joint responsibility for the protection of this area.