Climate Protection Act: The overall CO2 balance should count

The traffic light has agreed on a new climate protection law. It says goodbye to sector targets, but what counts is the overall balance of CO2 emissions. What does this mean for the climate goals? And what for the transport minister?

Nationwide driving bans on two days a week – Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing spoke out with this threatening backdrop at the end of last week. It cannot be assumed that the FDP man is actually serious about this. After all, Wissing is not exactly a fan of restrictions on individualized road traffic. His categorical no to the general speed limit on motorways is just one example. Instead, the minister probably wanted to make another point in the negotiations on the climate protection law.

The SPD, Greens and FDP agreed on a change to the law, which was laboriously negotiated in the grand coalition in 2019, in their coalition agreement. It says: “All sectors will have to make a contribution.” So also the previous problem child when it comes to climate protection, the transport sector. It has clearly missed its climate protection goals for years – including last year.

Expert advice: Big gap in the transport sector

The Expert Council for Climate Issues also confirms this in its test report this year. The gap in the transport sector is now so large that “you can only achieve a little bit with one measure,” says the deputy chair of the expert council, Brigitte Knopf. In their view, achieving the climate protection goals is already ambitious, which is why an “expanded package of measures” is actually needed for the transport sector alone. But there is currently no serious debate about individual measures or a larger package, explains Knopf.

But it is questionable whether this will happen in the foreseeable future. Especially now that the traffic light factions have paved the way for a change to the climate protection law. So far, climate protection targets have been set for each individual sector – i.e. for the energy sector, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and waste management. If one of these sectors misses its targets, an emergency program must be launched within a few months.

There would be more traffic

In addition to the driving bans, which Wissing did not seriously argue for, other unpopular measures such as speed limits are also being considered in the area of ​​traffic. The minister rightly points out that climate protection in the transport sector is particularly challenging. After all, around 20 percent of CO2 emissions are produced here. In addition, not all old cars can be replaced overnight.

But countermeasures could also be taken with much milder means. The ramp-up of e-car mobility, the expansion of the charging infrastructure, a strengthening of local public transport and, last but not least, the expansion of cycle paths can also lead to CO2 savings.

Balance sheet balancing instead of Instant programs

However, such immediate programs are no longer required in the amended Climate Protection Act. Instead, there should be a cross-sector, multi-year overall billing. This means: If traffic continues to emit too many harmful greenhouse gases in the future, this can be offset by greater savings in electricity generation, for example.

In addition, additional measures should only be necessary if the overall balance of all sectors is not correct in two consecutive years.

This change in particular has been sharply criticized by numerous environmental associations. However, it is not the case that in the future there will be shared irresponsibility instead of commitment and responsibility, as BUND boss Olaf Bandt thinks. Ultimately, the climate protection goals remain. The federal government continues to have overall responsibility for compliance. However, it now has significantly more flexibility when making adjustments.

More Commitment by 2040?

Ultimately, the amended Climate Protection Act is intended to make it more binding for the period between 2030 and 2040. A point that is particularly emphasized by the Greens.

The current version not only stipulated the goal for 2030 of reducing emissions overall by 65 percent compared to 1990. The 88 percent reduction target for 2040 can also be found there.

What is new, however, is that the federal government is obliged to also adopt concrete climate protection measures for the years 2031 to 2040. In addition, every new government must adopt a climate protection program within the first twelve months of its term in office. The traffic light coalition also binds its successors – who, however, can change the law again.

Pressure from the EU

In the future, however, the pressure will probably come primarily from elsewhere. At the end of last year, the EU states agreed to significantly expand CO2 emissions trading from 2027. In addition to the industrial and energy sectors, upper limits for greenhouse gas emissions will also apply to the areas of transport and buildings in the future.

This makes it expensive for climate sinners because, on the one hand, companies have to buy pollution rights in order to be allowed to emit greenhouse gases. On the other hand, member states face penalties if they do not achieve their climate protection goals. This also applies to individual areas, such as the transport sector.

In this respect, a German transport minister – whether his name is Wissing or something else – cannot sit back when it comes to climate protection in the future.