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Agora: Traffic light coalition misses the chance for quick climate protection in transport

Harsh criticism of the traffic light coalition's decisions also comes from the Berlin think tank: They are taking the pressure off the transportation sector and suggesting leeway in other areas. Harmful signals are seen in e-fuels and highways. And in the lack of reduction of fossil subsidies, which are essential for e-mobility.

Fatal Signals: The turnaround in fleets will continue to be delayed with the current decisions without the elimination of fossil car subsidies, believes Agora. | Photo: Volkswagen
Fatal Signals: The turnaround in fleets will continue to be delayed with the current decisions without the elimination of fossil car subsidies, believes Agora. | Photo: Volkswagen
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Johannes Reichel

At the recently adopted "Modernization Package for Climate Protection and Planning Acceleration" by the traffic light coalition, the Berlin think tank Agora Verkehrswende leveled massive criticism from a transport policy perspective. Wiebke Zimmer, Deputy Director of the Agora Verkehrswende think tank, predicts that the federal government still has its major climate protection debates ahead of it. The decisions of the coalition committee on the transport sector would significantly miss the climate protection targets by 2030.

"The package even weakens the sector targets, thus taking the pressure off the transport sector. Other sectors will not have the leeway in the coming years to make up for the shortcomings in transport. Therefore, the top priority remains: the federal government must present its promised cross-sector climate protection program, which has been overdue for months according to the Climate Protection Act," demanded Zimmer.

Instead of vague planning acceleration on paper, what is needed is "maximum speed in implementing climate protection in transport." Climate protection is mentioned in many places in the resolutions of the coalition leaders, but some of the announced measures distract from the necessary priorities, especially in two areas: highways and e-fuels.

"Here the federal government is sending harmful signals for climate protection. Accelerating the expansion and new construction of highways is not compatible with the priority for the more climate-friendly rail system. While e-fuels are needed in air and sea transport, they will not make any significant contribution to climate protection in road transport until at least 2030. This is a consensus among experts," Zimmer clarified.

By ignoring this, the federal government is fueling the expectation that everything can continue as before. With such false promises, Germany will lose clarity and direction in climate policy. Regarding the transport transition, the results of the meeting have two main blind spots: electromobility and public transport.

"The federal government is merely announcing measures to expand charging infrastructure. The question of how the stock of fully electric cars is supposed to grow from today's one million to 15 million vehicles by 2030 with this alone remains unanswered," Zimmer laments.

What is needed is a comprehensive tax reform with the abolition of subsidies and privileges for combustion vehicles and a clear alignment of car and company car taxation with CO2 emissions. From the think tank's perspective, this also includes reforms of the commuter allowance and energy taxes and preparing a polluter-pays car toll.

"Public transport does not feature in the paper – apart from a vague and repeatedly promised 'expansion and quality offensive'. How the necessary additional financial resources are to be mobilized remains open. Much of what the traffic light coalition's committee lists as a plus for climate protection in transport has long been agreed upon – from expanding rail, charging infrastructure, and cycling infrastructure to reforming road traffic law," Zimmer further criticizes.

If these points should have been the subject of the coalition committee again, then their price would be greatly exaggerated. From Zimmer's perspective, clear resolutions from the coalition agreement – such as the comprehensive reform of road traffic law – seem to be questioned again in their substance the longer they wait for implementation. This is worrying. One of the few positive exceptions Zimmer sees in the concretization of the plan to introduce a CO2 surcharge of 200 euros per ton in the truck toll from 2024. The additional revenues could be used to invest in rail and provide a clear cost incentive to switch to e-trucks quickly.

"If the federal government wants to meet the 2030 climate target in transport, it will have to make this level of ambition the standard. Judging by the current resolutions, it is still far from that," Zimmer concludes.

Translated automatically from German.
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