The criticism of the climate package was devastating. Now experts have calculated that greenhouse gas emissions should drop significantly, but it is actually not enough for the climate targets. There are now new rules for this case.
Berlin (dpa) - The climate protection package of the black-red coalition is not enough, according to calculations on behalf of the federal government, to achieve Germany's goals by 2030.
The 2030 climate protection program is likely to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51 or 52 percent over the next ten years, depending on the report, compared to 1990, the German press agency learned from government circles. The goal is a reduction of 55 percent. Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) and Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) had commissioned experts to calculate the impact of the new requirements and funding programs.
Without the climate protection program agreed upon by the Union and the SPD after months of negotiations in autumn, Germany would only reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent by 2030 compared to 1990. According to initial calculations, around 35 percent was achieved last year - official Numbers will come soon. The target for 2020 was actually 40 percent.
According to a report by the "Spiegel" (Wednesday), the measures, especially in traffic and in the building sector, ie when heating, are not sufficient. According to this, there is a gap of 30 to 33 million tons of CO2 equivalents per year in traffic. All greenhouse gases are converted into this unit.
The climate protection program includes, for example, the CO2 price, which will gradually make heating oil, fuel and natural gas more expensive from 2021, an exchange premium for oil heating, cheaper taxes on train tickets since the beginning of the year, and higher prices on plane tickets from April. Some things are still open: The motor vehicle tax should be geared more towards fuel consumption and thus CO2 emissions, for which Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) is to submit a draft.
The aim of the program was to achieve the climate targets for 2030 - but according to the reports, it is not enough. Climate activists had heavily criticized the compromises because, for example, the CO2 price was too low and because the commuter fee should increase in parallel. Germany is already tearing binding EU requirements for greenhouse gas emissions and will therefore soon have to buy pollution rights from other countries for a lot of money. It is also not entirely clear whether the 55 percent target for 2030 will remain. After all, the EU wants to increase its goal. How exactly, is now negotiated.
With the climate protection law, there have recently been new rules for saving greenhouse gases in Germany. From this year, there are individual, prescribed CO2 budgets for areas such as industry, energy, agriculture and also transport. If these are not adhered to, the minister has to readjust - that could affect Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU). It is therefore quite possible that the debate about the speed limit will continue unabated. Because a maximum of 130 km / h on motorways would save almost two million tons of CO2, as the Federal Environment Agency has just calculated.
The engines have become more efficient since 1990, but there is more driving and flying. The bottom line is that nothing has changed in greenhouse gas emissions in traffic in the past 30 years. Official figures on emissions in 2019 are expected to arrive in March. Experts, in particular, generated significantly fewer greenhouse gases than expected in electricity production, and the proportion of green electricity climbed to a new record.
Federal Environment Ministry on the Climate Protection Act
