CEO of Agora on the Mobility Transition: "We will all have to change a lot"
The head of the Think Tank Agora Verkehrswende, Christian Hochfeld, advocated for a determined and rapid change in mobility in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Otherwise, the climate goals would no longer be achievable. "We need to finally make quick decisions now. Politicians need to wake up from their sleeper cars," declared the graduate engineer and former head of the GIZ program for sustainable transport in China. He called on society to generally reconsider mobility.
"We all will have to change a lot. In mobility, it applies in the coming years: Radical will be the new normal," says Hochfeld. It must work to halve emissions in transport by 2030.
To achieve this, many more electric cars are needed, but also traffic reduction, bundling, and shifting. As an immediate program, Hochfeld proposes three measures: gasoline must become more expensive, especially electric company cars should be incentivized with tax breaks, and e-vehicles should be relieved in vehicle tax. "But after that, we finally need a comprehensive concept," he urged. Climate-damaging traffic must become more expensive because it cannot work otherwise. There is a consensus in science on this, and all parties know it. He condemned the "dishonest politics" when the government gives the impression that climate protection can be obtained at no cost and mastered solely with subsidies.
Scheuer is cherry-picking
Hochfeld especially criticized Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) whose climate programs achieve only half of what is necessary. He accused the CSU politician of "cherry-picking." "The new government must now tackle the unpleasant measures. Such a difficult situation has arisen for society and for the next government as well," Hochfeld analyzed.
New government needs to rectify the current one's inactivity
Thus, the impression arises that the new government is reaching into a poison cabinet, but it is only rectifying the inactivity of the current government. In his view, many managers in the automotive industry are ahead of the politicians, and Hochfeld also sees this as a "testimonial to the government's failure in recent years."
Fossil-fueled vehicles must become significantly more expensive to operate in the future, with fuel prices rising by 40 to 55 cents per liter by 2030, step by step, as Hochfeld emphasizes. He expects, as partial compensation, lower consumption and pointed to the already executed price jump of about 40 cents since last year, which has nothing to do with the CO2 price. Like the Greens, Hochfeld proposes a mobility allowance to offset social hardships but raises the general question of what the greater social problem is: climate protection or high rents in the city, respectively, or poor pay in sectors like healthcare.
Not acting would be the biggest risk
Germany should see the opportunities in the transformation, not just the risks. The risk is much greater not to act, said Hochfeld regarding competition from China, the USA, South Korea, or the tightened EU climate goals. The previous skepticism of Germans towards e-mobility is also attributable to politics and parts of the economy. There is a "tough fight against new drives," criticized Hochfeld. The environmental problems of e-cars can be resolved. Hochfeld also insisted on considering things in relation.
"How many tanker accidents are there, how many oil extraction sites are ecologically disastrous. How much oil is sold by despots," Hochfeld outlines the context.
It is also dishonest to convey to people that they already have a free choice of alternative drives between batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and synthetic fuels. The latter two will only be usable on a larger scale in about ten years at the earliest. "We need to be faster," urged the Agora chief.
To create the necessary charging infrastructure, planning and construction must be done from the end and need perspective. He warned against plastering cities with hundreds of thousands of slow charging stations and recommended better implementing the gas station principle with fast charging hubs, in addition to home and workplace charging. The grid must be regulated by the state as a public service but cannot be eternally subsidized by the state. Hochfeld proposed financing through a gasoline levy, an infrastructure charge, or financing the charging stations via the power grid, as is done in California. Fundamentally, the public space must be redistributed.
"Cars will only be able to take up less space in the future. They stand around in cities for 23 out of 24 hours. That's not a sensible use," Hochfeld warned.
Scooters and rental bikes would only take up a fraction of the space. He also advocated for a speed limit of 30 km/h, which is still prohibited by law. Cities need more design freedom. Thus, a competition for new mobility concepts and a better urban life would arise. New concepts and the renunciation of cars must be brought closer to people with attractive offers. Everyday routines need to change.
"Everyone should live out their mobility as they like. They should just pay a fair price for it. In the end, we do climate protection to secure freedom and thus mobility for ourselves and future generations," outlined Hochfeld.
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