According to the OECD, Germany is reducing emissions far too slowly to achieve the planned climate neutrality by 2045. Economically, the industrialized countries organization sees signs of recovery.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) sees Germany continuing to grow. She expects an increase in German gross domestic product of 0.3 percent, which should be followed by growth of 1.3 percent in 2024. “The relaxation in the supply chains, the high order backlog and the revival in foreign demand are ensuring a gradual economic recovery,” says the current economic report from the OECD for Germany.
“Pace the emission reduction triple”
At the same time, the researchers’ long list of recommendations underscores the fact that, from their point of view, Germany still has a long way to go to master the ecological and digital transformation. After ten years of dynamic growth, the corona pandemic and the energy crisis showed that the country had structural weaknesses. The federal government reacted quickly to the energy crisis in order to secure the energy supply and to support private households and companies. At the same time, however, there is a “large infrastructure backlog”.
In 2021, the Federal Republic of Germany emitted a total of 39 percent fewer greenhouse gases than in 1990. It has set itself the ambitious goal of being climate-neutral by 2045. “To do this, however, the pace of emission reduction must be tripled,” say the experts.
modernization of administration
One focus of the recommendations is the modernization of public administration: “In order to stimulate investment and innovation and to accelerate the ecological transformation, public administration must be improved and the administrative burden reduced, especially in the area of infrastructure planning,” it says Report.
The OECD also warns politicians to “gradually” transfer the extra budgets opened during the crisis back into the core budget in order to “increase the transparency and credibility of the budget framework” again. “At the same time, however, the budgetary rules should be made more flexible in order to enable sufficient investment spending.”
In addition, it is important to increase spending efficiency, prioritize spending better and reduce tax breaks. The digitization of the public sector is crucial. Specifically, the OECD experts also recommend reducing the tax burden on labor income, but increasing other taxes such as inheritance, gift and property taxes.
More determination reminded at traffic turnaround
The association of industrialized countries also sees deficits in environmentally friendly mobility. Germany must act more decisively in the traffic turnaround: “Many opportunities, such as a broader use of speed limits, tolls for cars and light commercial vehicles or city tolls, have not been used; others, such as raising parking fees, are only slowly being realised,” says the simultaneously published OECD environmental assessment report for Germany. “If public investments in rail were further increased, the digitization of control and signaling systems accelerated and competition increased, the transport turnaround would be easier to bring about,” the recommendation says.
The proportion of electric vehicles in the total vehicle stock is increasing rapidly, but is still small. The federal government is still a long way from its goal of putting a total of 15 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030 and providing one million charging points. “Instead of individual measures that are primarily intended to put more environmentally friendly cars on the road, what is needed is a holistic strategy for sustainable mobility.”
“expensive legacy”
The reports were handed over by OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann to Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (both Greens). Habeck said that the country had been “too slow on climate protection in the past”. This deficit must now be “resolutely” caught up. The politician insisted on implementing the projects agreed in the coalition agreement. This requires contributions from all fields of action, “especially in transport”.
Minister Lemke said that Germany had been doing business at the expense of nature for decades – be it in the energy sector, in transport or in agriculture. “These legacy issues are costing us dearly. The OECD report shows that unequivocally.” Nature, resource and climate protection must be brought together faster and more strongly. “The recommendations of the OECD show ways to do this – including the reduction of environmentally harmful subsidies.”