Merkel wants German aviation industry to lead in climate protection

At the first national aviation conference in Leipzig on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the importance of the aviation industry for the German economy and for climate protection.

"This also includes making Germany a leading location for climate-friendly aircraft technologies," Merkel said.

Criticism of air traffic was growing and it was "all the more important that the industry can show that growth is not always associated with more growth in climate-damaging emissions," she emphasized.

Merkel praised the aviation industry's commitments to maintain a steady aircraft emission level after 2020 and reduce emissions to 50 percent of 2005 levels by 2050.

Cutting aviation emissions would require, for example, the production of synthetic, climate-friendly fuels or the switch to electrically powered aircraft, she said.

Merkel emphasized that her government was not only focusing on electric mobility but also on hydrogen as a propulsion medium for aircraft.

A German hydrogen strategy should be developed by the end of the year, she noted.

"We want to take an open technological approach to things," Merkel said, noting that "the potential of hydrogen for aviation is far from being tapped."

Merkel stressed that the aviation industry was "of considerable overall economic importance" to Germany as well over a quarter of Germany's export value was transported all over the world by air freight.