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Federal Court of Auditors picks apart the federal government's climate policy

2022-03-24T15:52:16.211Z


Largely ineffective, largely uncoordinated: the Court of Auditors gives a devastating assessment of the government's climate policy. The federal government even thwarts its own goals with harmful subsidies.


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Wind power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia: »The measures taken so far will not succeed in achieving Germany’s climate protection goals«

Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa

In a special report on controlling climate protection, the Federal Court of Auditors questions German climate policy - and largely criticizes it as ineffective.

According to the report, all climate protection measures must be put to the test immediately, and a reorientation is urgently needed.

Specifically, the auditors complain that billions are being spent on programs that are ineffective or only marginally effective.

Management and coordination are poor.

"The government must immediately create the conditions for the many budget funds to also be used for climate protection," said the President of the Federal Audit Office, Kay Scheller.

A statement on the report states: "The measures taken so far will not succeed in achieving Germany's climate protection goals." Instead of the targeted greenhouse gas reduction of 65 percent by 2030 - based on the base year 1990 - only 49 percent are expected to be achieved .

65 billion for environmentally harmful measures

The new federal government has announced more speed and further measures.

"But we are convinced that that alone will not be enough," said Scheller - and refers to the poor control and coordination so far.

Scheller complained that the federal government was even thwarting its goals and its expensive climate protection measures by continuing to allow billions in climate-damaging subsidies.

According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, financial aid of 16 billion euros for the past year had a positive relation to the German environmental and climate goals.

Almost at the same time, the Federal Environment Agency assessed subsidies of 65 billion euros in 2018 as environmentally harmful.

The Federal Audit Office recommends reducing these subsidies.

In the future, concrete target values ​​for the reduction of greenhouse gases should be set for all climate protection measures.

The government must direct the billions for climate protection to where they have the most impact.

In the budget, income and expenditure should be shown as to whether they promote or impede the achievement of climate protection goals.

Effective coordination of the climate protection activities of all departments is necessary.

In addition, the government must expand the previously inconclusive annual climate protection reports into a real monitoring instrument.

Court of Auditors: Government does not even have an overview of the existing climate protection programs

The special report can be seen as a kind of reckoning with the work of the old federal government - and as an urgent request for the new traffic light coalition to change course.

According to Scheller, the government currently does not even have a precise overview of how many programs and measures there are for climate protection.

And: "Climate policy is not just spending policy," say the auditors.

In addition to funding programs, there is national emissions trading, tax breaks and investments in infrastructure.

»This mix can only work optimally if the instruments are coordinated.«

In most of the more than 100 funding programs currently available, it is also still unclear whether and, if so, to what extent they contribute to reducing greenhouse gases.

“As a result, budget funds flow into ineffective and inefficient programs for climate protection.

This makes it more difficult and jeopardizes the achievement of the climate goals," criticizes the Federal Court of Auditors.

Specifically, he mentioned the climate protection program 2030 from October 2019. This includes 96 sectoral and cross-sectoral measures to reduce emissions.

Presumably, however, only four of them led to significant emission savings.

Scheller: "These are mainly the measures to reduce and end coal-fired power generation and the expansion of renewable energies."

The Federal Audit Office sees a particular need for action in the cross-departmental coordination of climate protection policy.

»So far, the so-called climate cabinet has only led a shadowy existence.

In the last legislative period, it was supposed to control and coordinate departmental activities, but only met once,” criticized the President of the Federal Audit Office.

apr/dpa

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2022-03-24

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