Not easy voting green: Germans wary of getting climate bill

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

HALLE, Germany (AP) — Climate change is among the top concerns for Germans going into this year’s national election that will determine who replaces Angela Merkel as chancellor. But while voters admit they are worried about the state of the planet, many fear the cost of backing the environmentalist Green party that’s campaigned strongest for meeting the Paris climate accord’s goals. The party has proposed a wholesale transformation of the economy, with 50 billion euros a year earmarked for environmental and social issues. It is currently polling third behind Merkel’s Union bloc and the center-left social Democrats, which it accuses of wasting precious years in government .