The transport sector has clearly missed the 2023 climate target

The transport sector has missed its climate target for the third year in a row. Transport Minister Wissing must now act. This offers new fuel in the dispute over the climate protection law.

In 2023, the transport sector also caused significantly more exhaust gases than legally permitted. This was determined by the Federal Government’s independent expert council for climate issues. Instead of the permitted 133 million tonnes of greenhouse gases, the sector emitted 146 million tonnes last year. This is what the experts write in their test report on data from the Federal Environment Agency. This means that the transport sector has missed its climate target for the third year in a row.

Overall, there was a sharp decline in emissions in Germany by around ten percent last year, the independent expert committee confirmed. Emissions have fallen from 750 to 674 million tons of greenhouse gases. This is the highest percentage decline in one year since 1990.

Expert advice: Current climate protection measures are not enough

Like the Federal Environment Agency and Federal Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), the expert council does not attribute this to effective climate protection policy, but to the weakening economy and the weather. “Without the decline in energy-intensive industry and the renewed mild weather in 2023, emissions would have been significantly higher,” said the chairman of the council, Hans-Martin Henning. Under other conditions, the annual target would probably not have been achieved.

However, traffic produced significantly more CO2 than permitted, and the building sector was in short supply. “According to the wording of the law, there is a need for an emergency program for both sectors,” said Henning. The measures decided so far were not enough.

The ministry has three months to take countermeasures

This means that Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) is legally forced to implement a climate program. If areas fail to meet the requirements, the responsible ministries must follow up with immediate programs within three months.

The sectors had already missed their CO2 emissions targets in recent years. However, Wissing had previously rejected an immediate program because the traffic light coalition wants to change the climate protection law, which is the basis of the rule. The annual permissible emission levels for individual areas such as industry, energy, transport and buildings are recorded there.

Coalition dispute about reform of the Climate Protection Act

The exact climate targets for individual economic sectors are a thorn in the side of the FDP. In principle, the cabinet made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP has already agreed on a reform of the law that will soften the goals for the individual sectors. Accordingly, the main focus in the future will be whether greenhouse gas savings targets are met across all areas. The traffic light factions in the Bundestag are currently still fighting over the law.

Wissing threatened to impose weekend driving bans

Wissing had recently put pressure on a rapid reform of the climate protection law – and threatened that otherwise drastic restrictions such as weekend driving bans for cars with combustion engines could be necessary.

He was sharply criticized for this, both from the ranks of the coalition and the opposition: the deputy federal chairman of the CDU, Andreas Jung, said that the FDP was organizing a “smear theater”. Wissing is creating uncertainty in order to distract from the fact that he is not doing his homework on climate protection, he told the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” and the “Stuttgarter Zeitung”. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also expressed criticism of Wissing’s threat. “We reject driving bans,” he told the “Bild” newspaper.