Eesti 200 chairman: Ministry of Climate to have two ministers in new government

The Ministry of Climate will gain an extra minister under the new coalition and the work will be split between two leaders, Eesti 200 chairman and Minister of Education Kristina Kallas said on Friday. The portfolio will be given to the Social Democratic Party (SDE).
The government will create a new position titled the minister of infrastructure.
The ministry's work will be divided among the two ministers with one responsible for resources and the other infrastructure.
"This is simply because there are a huge number of responsibilities under the current climate minister," Kallas told Vikerraadio's "Uudis+" program.
"A highly capable minister, a highly capable chancellor, of course, can manage this very large area of responsibility, but with the adoption of the Climate Law, there are many more activities. For it to be done properly anyway, there is a feeling that there needs to be at least two leaders, and there is a separation of those responsibilities. Who is responsible for the future infrastructure from a climate perspective and who is responsible for resources?"
The government has no plans to create a new ministry, Kallas said.
SDE to get minister of infrastructure

SDE's Priit Lomp told ERR that party Chairman Lauri Läänemets had asked him if he would be willing to consider the position.
"He has indeed asked me whether I am prepared to consider it or say 'no' to the place immediately. And my answer to Lauri was that I would definitely not say 'no' in a hurry," he said.
"The former climate ministry was responsible for everything from energy to aviation, from nature conservation to transport. The coalition agreement divides the remit of this ministry between two ministers, roughly as it was in the past. And the side that the Social Democrats will be responsible for will be the infrastructure issues, that is, everything that concerns the road network, shipping, ferries, aviation, the networks," the MP said.
Lomp said other names besides his own are also connected with the role. SDE will announce its ministerial lineup on Sunday.
Reform currently holds the climate portfolio. Under the last government, Kristen Michal – Reform's prime ministerial candidate – was minister of climate and he started the ministry from scratch in May 2023.
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Editor: Valner Väino, Aleksander Krjukov, Helen Wright
Source: Uudis+, interview by Johannes Voltri