BERLIN, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Head of German Chancellery Helge Braun defended the government's climate protection plans during an interview with the German public broadcaster ZDF on Monday.

"This program is far better than what is known today," Braun stated, defending the low-carbon price of 10 euros (11 U.S. dollars) per ton which is set to gradually rise to 35 euros by 2025. "That is not enough for the climate protectors, but for ordinary citizens it is by far ambitious enough."

The German government last month agreed on a bundle of measures to reach national climate targets -- 55 percent fewer greenhouse gases by 2030 as compared to 1990, including CO2 pricing and various incentives.

However, the German magazine Spiegel reported on Sunday that the government's climate measures were less ambitious than originally planned.

According to a final draft by German environmental ministry cited by Spiegel, there would be no clearly defined national CO2 reduction target for the year 2040. Furthermore, the promise that Germany will achieve greenhouse neutrality by 2050 would only be "pursued."

The environmental ministry rejected the criticism. "There can be no talk of a weakening of essential points," the ministry announced on Twitter. "The core of the project, the annual sector targets for 2020 to 2030, which are decisive for climate policy, is and will remain fully effective."

On Monday, Braun stated that the government "now made a climate protection plan for 2030" in line with the targets for 2030 which had been agreed by the European Union at the climate conference in Paris.

"The Climate Protection Act, which we will be adopting in the next few days, will set precisely this national climate target for 2030," he added.

In a survey by ZDF, more than 50 percent of German voters noted that the measures presented in the government's climate plan would not "go far enough."

Braun stressed that people needed support in making energy-saving purchase decisions in the "next two to three years." For example, Germans who replace an old oil-fired heating system with a more climate-friendly model would be reimbursed with up to 40 percent of the costs.

With the climate package, the government wanted Germans to "turn around" and "not be punished today for yesterday's behavior," Braun said. Enditem

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