Transport Minister Volker Wissing has fueled the traffic light dispute over the Climate Protection Act with a warning about possible weekend driving bans. The Greens reacted indignantly: “A minister should not stir up unfounded concerns among people,” said deputy group leader Julia Verlinden of the German Press Agency.
“Wissing wasted two years blocking every climate protection measure in road traffic - now he is painting horror scenarios on the wall so that he doesn’t have to do anything in the future," said Greenpeace mobility expert Clara Thompson. The German climate goals are bindingly regulated in the climate Protection Act. It stipulates that emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases will be reduced by 65 percent by 2030 compared to 1990. The key point so far is the following mechanism: If sectors fail to meet the targets, the responsible federal government departments have to make adjustments in the form of emergency programs - to ensure compliance with emission levels. The current law provides that the federal ministry will show that the permissible annual emissions are exceeded.