CDU politician “Pioneering work”: Former Surroundings Minister Klaus Töpfer has died
dpa June 11, 2024 – 3:28 pm
Klaus Töpfer was 85 years previous. Photograph: Uwe Anspach/dpa
He was thought of the “inexperienced conscience” of the CDU and campaigned for sustainable politics nicely into his previous age. The previous Surroundings Minister Klaus Töpfer has now died on the age of 85.
Berlin/Höxter – He was thought of a robust voice around the globe to guard the setting and as soon as famously jumped into the Rhine. Now the previous Federal Minister of Surroundings and CDU politician Klaus Töpfer is lifeless.
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He died after a brief, severe sickness, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the federal CDU. Töpfer was 85 years previous. The newspapers “Neue Westfälische” and “Westfalen-Blatt” had beforehand reported on Töpfer’s demise.
Töpfer was Germany’s second setting minister – and the primary to have a long-lasting impression on the workplace. “He did pioneering work in lots of areas – and thru his work he additionally caused adjustments in attitudes and habits,” Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote when information of his demise broke. CDU chief Friedrich Merz referred to as Töpfer a “controversial fighter for sustainability.” The CDU defined that the preservation of creation was the theme of his life.
“A assessment and a robust voice”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wrote on Platform X: “Local weather safety is a crucial concern of Klaus Töpfer – each on the earth and in Germany.” Scholz credited Töpfer with “perception” and a “sturdy voice”. This might be missed.
Federal Surroundings Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) praised Töpfer as a “improbable setting minister” who stood for reconciling ecology and the economic system. NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) emphasised Töpfer’s persistence and persistence within the battle for the setting. This meant that he was “a voice of warning heard around the globe and internationally revered to the tip”.
Töpfer was born in Silesia in 1938 and got here to Höxter in North Rhine-Westphalia after the Second World Conflict. Töpfer entered politics within the Nineteen Seventies in Saarland, the place he took a place within the State Chancellery. He was later Secretary of State after which Minister of State for Surroundings and Well being within the Rhineland-Palatinate District earlier than transferring into federal politics. Just lately he lived once more in Höxter together with his spouse.
It’s identified to leap into the Rhine
For a few years, Klaus Töpfer was thought of the “inexperienced conscience” of the Christian Democrats. Even in his previous age, he by no means bored with wanting sustainable politics. Töpfer turned identified, amongst different issues, for bravely leaping from a police boat into the Rhine in 1988 – the trigger, as he has repeatedly mentioned, was a misplaced wager. A yr earlier he succeeded Walter Wallmann as Minister of the Surroundings. Töpfer remained in workplace till 1994 – when he was changed by future Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).
The Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in April 1986 prompted the federal government of Chancellor Helmut Kohl (CDU) on the time to incorporate environmental points and the sphere of nuclear security in a separate ministry. As early as 1988, Töpfer referred to as for a future with out nuclear power, but additionally with much less fossil fuels.
“He noticed a lot of what we’re discussing as we speak a long time in the past,” Wüst prompt in his assertion. Amongst different issues, NRW is dedicated to the truth that Bonn has develop into a robust location for the United Nations.
Director of the Surroundings Program on the United Nations
After leaving the workplace of the Federal Minister of the Surroundings, environmental safety and sustainability – together with social points – remained Töpfer’s points. In 1996, as Minister of Building, he represented Germany on the UN Habitats Convention in Istanbul. It was concerning the high quality of life in cities and subsequently concerning the problems with poverty and the setting. From 1998 to 2006, Töpfer was director of the United Nations Surroundings Programme.