German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government is set to unveil a package of measures on Friday, September 20, to ensure that the country cuts its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to the 1990 levels, Deutsche Welle reports.

Days before the announcement, Germany's governing coalition parties have reached an agreement on a climate package, which could cost at least €40 billion ($44.6 billion) until 2023, according to reports from German daily Welt am Sonntag and the Reuters news agency.

 "Over €40 billion in just four years is a huge sum," Welt am Sonntag quoted government officials as saying.

"We agree that something needs to be done, but it is still open which form this will take," a person briefed on the talks told Reuters. "We still have not agreed on a price for a ton of C02."

The coalition partners — including Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), their Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) sister party and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) — have long argued about how to finance Germany's march toward a green future.

The CDU/CSU have been eager to ensure that the burden of financing the measures doesn't hurt German businesses, while the SPD wants to protect small earners.

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