The traffic light factions have been fighting for new rules for climate protection for months. Now they agree. Transport Minister Wissing is satisfied – environmentalists less so.
The long-controversial reform of the Climate Protection Act has been finalized. This was announced by representatives of the three government factions SPD, Greens and FDP in Berlin. At the same time, there was an agreement on a more rapid solar expansion.
With the agreement, Transport Minister Volker Wissing’s (FDP) threat of far-reaching interventions such as weekend driving bans for drivers is also off the table. Wissing had declared this to be necessary if the law was not changed, but this also received opposition – after all, other CO2 saving measures were also conceivable, critics argued.
Driving bans off the table
“The previous climate protection law would have been associated with massive restrictions on freedom for citizens,” explained Wissing. “With the agreement, driving bans are finally off the table.” Green party deputy Julia Verlinden, however, emphasized: “Driving bans, as threatened by Transport Minister Wissing, were never necessary and will not be necessary in the future.
But more needs to happen, especially in the area of transport, so that all citizens can be mobile in a climate-friendly manner.” The minister responsible also bears “a special legal and political responsibility” within the framework of the new law.
Missing the target will only be relevant for the second year in a row
The following applies so far: If individual sectors such as transport or buildings fail to meet legal requirements for CO2 emissions, the responsible ministries must submit emergency programs in the following year. With the reform, compliance with the climate targets should no longer be checked retroactively by sector, but rather with a view to the future, over a period of several years and across sectors.
If it becomes apparent in two consecutive years that the federal government is not on track to meet its climate target for 2030, it will have to make adjustments. By then, Germany must by law reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65 percent compared to 1990
Weakening or victory for climate protection?
The MPs have now confirmed the basic principles of the reform, which the Federal Cabinet had already decided on last year, with their agreement. Environmental associations had complained about a weakening of the legal regulations. With the reform, failure to meet targets will actually trigger an obligation to make additional adjustments less quickly.
This was important to the FDP, which found the previous regulations too backwards and fragmented. The Greens emphasize that German climate policy is now paying more attention to the period up to 2040 instead of only up to 2030 and with it the increasingly ambitious climate goals. But this will only become truly relevant from 2030.
In addition, the European CO2 savings targets remain unchanged. According to the Greens, great efforts are still needed here so that Germany does not have to buy rights to emit greenhouse gases worth billions from 2027. This means that the pressure on the transport sector will remain.
Federal Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) explained that the reform would make climate protection policy more forward-looking, more flexible and therefore more efficient. “In the future, the federal government will have even greater overall responsibility for compliance with climate goals.” The respective annual emission quantities remained relevant for monitoring and evaluation.
“The amendment means that not one gram of CO2 can be emitted anymore,” promised SPD parliamentary group vice-president Matthias Miersch. The German Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), however, was disappointed. “Instead of commitment and responsibility, there is now shared irresponsibility,” complained chairman Olaf Bandt. “Decisive teeth have been pulled out of the law. Climate protection should be put on the back burner with impunity.”
What about traffic?
Wissing can breathe a sigh of relief. Just this morning, the Council of Experts on Climate Issues found that the transport sector had missed its climate target for the third year in a row. Environmental associations had successfully sued the federal government for a lack of ambition, which then appealed.
In the future, federal governments will have to present a program of measures to achieve the climate target for 2040 at the beginning of their term in office – but this will only apply for the first time in 2026, i.e. after the next federal election, which normally takes place in autumn 2025.
Climate target 2040 becomes the benchmark
According to the Green Party, the climate target for 2040 is getting more traction. By then, Germany wants to reduce its emissions by 88 percent compared to 1990. The federal government’s future climate protection programs would have to be measured against this.
If it appears that Germany will not achieve its climate target for 2040, a “binding adjustment mechanism” will ensure that the government decides on additional climate protection measures. A legal text was not initially available on Monday afternoon, but the parliamentary groups presented the content of the agreement from their own perspective.
The status of climate protection
The morning before the agreement was announced, the Expert Council for Climate Issues, an independent committee of scientists, presented its balance sheet of German greenhouse gas emissions last year. The experts essentially confirmed the data from the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) presented in March. German emissions fell by around ten percent last year compared to the previous year, but this was also due to the poor economic situation and the mild weather.
For the third time in a row, the transport sector caused more greenhouse gases than provided for in the Climate Protection Act, which is why, under the old legal situation, Wissing would now have to present an immediate program for more climate protection within three months – but this should no longer be necessary if the reform is passed soon.
According to UBA calculations, the building sector also narrowly missed its target, which the expert council neither wants to confirm nor reject given the great uncertainty in the calculated data. But under the old legal situation, Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) would now also have to present an immediate program.