CO2 emissions must be reduced in all areas of society. Since the savings targets set by politicians are not sufficient, an emergency climate protection program should now help. In the transport sector, the savings potential is hardly used, much to the annoyance of Greenpeace and the Green Party leader Dröge.
When it comes to the federal government’s immediate climate protection program, there is criticism above all of the Ministry of Transport. It cannot be that “immediate measures in the transport sector are missing,” Greenpeace Germany boss Martin Kaiser told the editorial network Germany (RND). The leader of the Greens in the Bundestag, Katharina Dröge, called for further steps by Transport Minister Volker Wissing to reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector.
On Monday, the federal government initiated departmental coordination on the immediate climate protection program in order to bring Germany on course to achieve the reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The emergency program had become necessary after previous interim goals had not been achieved, especially in the building and transport sectors.
According to information from government circles, the gap in the Ministry of Transport is still the largest with 271 million tons of CO2 that must be additionally saved. Measures such as the expansion of rail transport, the strengthening of public transport and the expansion of the charging infrastructure are intended to remedy the situation.
Greenpeace’s Kaiser criticized this as insufficient. Measures are needed that would quickly bring large savings, such as an earlier phase-out of combustion engines, speed limits and an increase in the registration tax for combustion engines. “It is particularly bold that in the transport sector, where we had a 30-year standstill in reducing emissions, the greatest resistance is now,” Kaiser told RND.
“There is an enormous need for action in the transport sector if the climate protection goals are to be achieved,” Green politician Dröge told the newspaper. “The gap that needs to be closed is huge, so all efforts must be scaled up quickly.” She called for a rapid reform of the commuter allowance and more funding for rail.
