Emissions from the transport sector remain the federal government’s problem child.
Image: dpa
The Federal Government does not lack ideas when it comes to climate protection, but rather a coherent overall concept, the climate council finds. The new climate protection law could even be helpful here.
Around 130 climate protection measures with “potential”, but no coherent overall concept: According to the Expert Council for Climate Issues, the Federal Government must put its efforts in the fight against global warming on a new footing so that it can achieve the legislative goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The committee insists that in future the focus should primarily be on economic means – such as bringing forward the national emissions trading system, which was previously planned for 2027. “We need an upper limit for emissions,” demanded the deputy chairwoman of the expert council, Brigitte Knopf, on Tuesday in Berlin. This gives CO2 emissions a price that is freely set via a trading system and is therefore likely to be significantly higher than the 40 euros per tonne recently set for 2024.
“Climate protection is not a walk in the park, it requires great effort,” said Knopf on the occasion of the statement on the climate protection program 2023. The committee at the federal government does indeed take note of this, but at the same time urges more ambition. The planned reform of the climate protection law could definitely be an opportunity, emphasized the chairman of the five-person expert council, physics professor Hans-Martin Henning – namely when the government assumes overall responsibility and no longer just concentrates on individual measures.