Germany missed its climate target for the past year. This is not least due to the areas of transport and buildings. The responsible ministries are making adjustments – but probably not sufficiently.
With the immediate climate protection programs presented by the government for the building and transport sectors, Germany is in danger of falling further short of its climate targets in these areas, according to an independent panel of experts. The Expert Council for Climate Issues in Berlin announced that there is still a large gap in efforts to reduce greenhouse gases in transport. Environmental groups reacted with outrage.
“According to the Ministry of Transport, the emergency program for the transport sector saves only 14 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions, so that there is still a mathematical performance gap of 261 megatons by 2030,” explained Brigitte Knopf, Deputy Chairwoman of the Expert Council.
Accusation: “refusal to work in the matter of climate protection”
The ministry has only presented plans to compensate for the gap in emissions from the previous year, which is “a very special interpretation” of the climate protection law. In addition, the House of Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) referred to the planned comprehensive immediate climate protection program of the federal government, which the expert council will also examine. The experts have therefore dispensed with a comprehensive examination of the immediate transport programme. “In the transport sector, the overarching emergency climate protection program will have to go far beyond the sectoral emergency program that has been submitted,” said Knopf.
The German Climate Alliance accused Wissing of “refusing to work on climate protection” and called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to act.
Building sector: feasibility of plans “questionable”
The Expert Council gave the greenhouse gas savings plans for the building sector, for which Klara Geywitz’s (SPD) Ministry of Construction and Robert Habeck’s (Greens) Ministry of Economic Affairs are responsible, a slightly better rating. The program envisages greenhouse gas savings of 137 megatons by 2030, which would mean that Germany would have achieved its overall climate targets in this area by then. By 2027, however, the annual targets would still be exceeded.
“Whether the savings can really be realized to this extent seems questionable after our examination”, remarked the chairman of the expert council, Hans-Martin Henning. The bottom line is that compliance with the climate protection requirements is not guaranteed by the emergency program, according to the Council.
Sharp criticism
The responsible ministries have done far too little, criticized the federal director of the German Environmental Aid, Barbara Metz. The government is delaying the switch to more climate-friendly heating and is therefore partly responsible for excessively rising heating costs. “High efficiency standards and effective renovation incentives must be the focus of the new emergency program in order to protect low-income households in particular from price fluctuations and dependence on fossil fuels.” The organization wants to sue against the immediate traffic program.
According to the announcement, Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Habeck said that the government is now obliged to decide on the immediate climate protection program in September. All areas must make their contribution. “It’s not about abstract numbers, it’s about preserving the basis for a life of freedom and prosperity.”
Germany has set annual climate protection goals for various areas. If these are missed, the ministries concerned must submit emergency programs with additional efforts to save greenhouse gases. The Expert Council has now evaluated these programmes. The Council is an independent body of five experts nominated by the federal government.
According to preliminary figures, Germany’s emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases increased by 4.5 percent last year, as the Federal Environment Agency announced in March. Even a year later, Germany is still missing the target set for 2020 of 40 percent less greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990. Emissions fell by only 38.7 percent compared to 1990.
Source: Stern
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