Klöckner drives the government's most harmful company car

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Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU)

Photo: Metodi Popow / imago images

The tasks of Agriculture and Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner include protecting the environment and animals.

At least with a view to her company car, the CDU politician is only moderately compliant.

Because of all the ministers in the federal government, she drives the cars that are most damaging to the climate.

This emerges from the response of the Federal Environment Ministry to a small request from the FDP parliamentary group that SPIEGEL has received.

First the Berlin »Tagesspiegel« reported about it.

Klöckner's Audi A8 diesel emits 191 grams of CO₂ per kilometer.

Your second company car, a BMW xDrive iPerformance, emits 59 grams of CO₂ per kilometer.

If the minister were to use half of both, that would be an average of 125 grams of CO₂.

Klöckner's company cars are by far dirtier than those of their colleagues.

The other cabinet members with the highest CO2 emissions:

Chancellery Minister

Helge Braun

(CDU) is driven in a BMW 730Ld (150 grams of CO₂ per kilometer) and a BMW 745 LE (65 grams).

Federal Minister of Economics

Peter Altmaier

(CDU) and Minister of Justice

Christine Lambrecht

(SPD) drive in the Audi A8 (66 grams).

Labor Minister

Hubertus Heil

(SPD) also has an Audi A8 (66 grams), as well as a 745 BMW (61 grams) - which is why it emits an average of 63.5 grams.

Transport Minister

Andreas Scheuer

(CSU) also drives in the BMW 745, but with a different engine.

It comes to 60 grams of CO₂ per kilometer.

Environment Minister

Svenja Schulze

(SPD) has converted her BMW 745 to be even more climate-friendly (52 grams).

In addition, the only minister with the Mercedes EQC 400 is a purely electric car that, according to the manufacturer, emits “0 grams” of CO₂.

Chancellor

Angela Merkel

(CDU),

Olaf Scholz

(SPD),

Horst Seehofer

(CSU),

Heiko Maas

are not listed individually in the small inquiry

(SPD) and

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer

(CDU).

Among other things, you can use »specially protected limousines«.

Due to their weight, the armored vehicles emit between 260 and 421 grams of CO₂ per kilometer.

Sandra Weeser, chairwoman of the FDP parliamentary group in the economic committee, criticizes the federal government's fleet of vehicles: “Even if a large number of cabinet members have now switched to hybrid vehicles, that does not mean that the CO₂ footprint has decreased as a result, if you look at it the entire production and life cycle of such a vehicle. "

"Incredible" when it comes to climate protection

How criminally the government is dealing with climate protection is also shown in the second row: "Outside the spotlight", parliamentary state secretaries would often continue to rely on company cars with CO₂ emissions and more, "and that with an EU fleet limit of 95g / km . «According to the small inquiry, for example, the company cars of State Secretaries for Economic Affairs Thomas Bareiß and Marco Wanderwitz emit more than 190 grams, as does State Secretary for Agriculture Caren Marks.

The declared goal of the Federal Government's Climate Protection Program 2030 is for people to buy cars that are as climate-friendly as possible.

According to Weeser, the grand coalition acts "implausibly": "If a federal government asks a lot from the people, as is the case with the issue of climate protection, then members of the government and ministries must be the first to take the lead."

mrc / sev