Germany stimulus to help fight future challenges

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says more than a third of the stimulus package agreed by her government this week is devoted to tackling future challenges such as climate change. Germany's three governing parties announced a 130 billion-euro ($146 billion) package Wednesday to revive the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In her weekly video address Saturday, Merkel said that 50 billion euros alone would go toward boosting the use of hydrogen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels, encouraging the purchase of electric vehicles, equipping schools with IT devices and researching future technologies such as quantum computing. Merkel acknowledged that Germany will have to borrow money to pay for the additional spending, but insisted that "now, during the worst economic crisis that (post-war) Germany has experienced, it's right to act with bravery and resolve."