The new thoughtfulness in green climate policy makes people sit up and take notice.

Referring to the war in Ukraine, their top leaders quickly put the importance of climate protection into perspective.

Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck answered the question from Deutschlandfunk whether security was more important than climate protection: "When in doubt, that's the case."

In the short term, more coal-fired power plants might have to remain in reserve or even run longer.

"Pragmatism has to beat any political determination." Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock put it similarly.

This honesty is courageous.

Large parts of the Greens have made climate protection an absolute and placed it above all other political goals, not just the activist front organizations.

The surprisingly discovered sense of reality of those responsible can only do the great concern of making Germany CO2-neutral as a role model for the world.

There are legitimate doubts whether the planned rapid abandonment of nuclear power and coal in Germany will still enable a secure and affordable energy supply, both abroad and at home.

After all, the high financial costs of the German special path could no longer be overlooked.

Now Putin's attack has also highlighted the high security risks inherent in an energy policy that is restricted to very few sources and technologies.

German climate policy is still based on the illusion that, with good will and debt-financed subsidies, a CO2-neutral future can be achieved as planned without compromising on social or other aspirations.

Although the traffic light agreement names hurdles such as lengthy approval procedures, it otherwise falsely pretends that climate protection only requires tougher specifications and courageous staying on course.

Faster and more brutally than expected, reality is forcing the Greens in particular to admit that German climate policy is partly on the wrong track and needs to be much better coordinated with other important state goals if it is to bear fruit.

Whether this knowledge will be followed by the right course corrections will only be shown by the laws that Habeck wants to present.