The draft climate action program that is presently being discussed among German ministries is not sufficient to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets in the transport sector for 2030; further steps are to be decided on at the beginning of the following year. According to the report, the transportation industry must reduce around 271 million tonnes of greenhouse gases by the year 2030. However, even if additional measures are implemented, there will still be a shortfall of between 118 and 175 million tonnes.
Recent criticism regarding insufficient efforts resulted in the transport ministry announcing that it will include new recommendations in the government’s overarching climate action programme 2022. These new proposals will need the approval of the full cabinet in order to be implemented. However, we have decided to table the discussion for the time being. The federal government has it in their plans to unveil a brand-new transportation policy initiative sometime in the spring of next year.
The transportation industry has set a number of targets for 2030, one of which is to increase the number of electric automobiles to 15 million. In addition, the promotion of electric mobility, rail transportation, as well as urban and regional transportation, are all going to be enhanced, and more use is going to be made of renewable fuels. The paper also envisions a number of other measures, such as an accelerated expansion of renewable energy sources, renovation measures in the building sector, and the expansion of organic farming, that could reduce sufficient greenhouse gas emissions in the energy, industry, and building sectors by the year 2030.
The ambitious aims of Germany to attain climate neutrality by the year 2045 are only conceivable if strong measures are implemented now, and greenhouse gas emissions fall dramatically in this decade. The German government has set its sights on this goal. To guarantee that these objectives are met, the government is working on building a comprehensive climate protection program to address the necessary reductions in emission levels of 65 percent by the year 2030 in comparison to the levels in 1990.
The Social Democrats (SPD), Green Party, and Free Democrats of Germany (FDP), who are now in power, made a commitment in their coalition compact to propose such a program before to the end of the year. In order to successfully complete the task at hand, contributions from all of the major fields are required. A recent report issued by the government’s Council of Experts on Climate Change issued a warning that current efforts, particularly in the areas of transportation and construction, are insufficient.
