The new Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Carsten Schneider, faces major organizational and substantive tasks. He takes office at a time when the ecological crises relating to climate, biodiversity, resource consumption and plastic pollution are coming to a dramatic head, but the will to regulate in these areas has been put on the defensive. The new ministry has all the central functions relating to climate policy and is therefore strong; however, this also makes it isolated as the only place where ecological issues are seriously negotiated in the Merz government.