The board of the controversial climate foundation MV around ex-Prime Minister Erwin Sellering (SPD) resigns. The foundation has been criticized since it was founded in January 2021 because, in addition to climate protection projects, it also supported the construction of the German-Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2.

As Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) announced after reaching an agreement with the three-member foundation board on Tuesday, the board is expected to resign as a whole at the end of September. Prior to this, the economic business operations of the foundation should be settled in an orderly manner. This step is intended to enable the foundation to be dissolved as requested by the state parliament.

According to the head of government, a resolution board should be appointed. Before that, there had been talks between the foundation and the state about the legal pros and cons of a dissolution, but no agreement could be reached for a long time.

However, Sellering again emphasized on Tuesday that he is sticking to his position that it is not legally possible to dissolve the foundation. A report commissioned by the state government had previously outlined both a self-dissolution of the foundation by the board of directors and a dissolution by the foundation supervisory authority – the Ministry of Justice – as possible. However, a report by the board of trustees came to a different conclusion.

The state government was nevertheless optimistic. If the dissolution succeeds, the foundation’s climate protection projects are to be taken over by the State Energy and Climate Protection Agency of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. The state wants to finance this with 5 million euros.