German Climate Balance: Not So Great After All - Transport Lags Behind

Contrary to the recent assessment published by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BUM) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the newly established "Expert Council on Climate Issues" by the federal government has come to the conclusion in a recent estimate that two-thirds of the reduction in CO2 emissions can be attributed to the effects of the Corona crisis. This is reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Based on a trend continuity, the emissions would have been 45 to 48 million tons of carbon dioxide higher. In relation to the German climate target, the reduction in CO2 emissions compared to 1990 would then have been only 37 percent, with an officially targeted 40 percent. BUM and UBA had come to more positive conclusions in March and had assumed a reduction of 40.8 percent including the Corona factor. Even without the pandemic, Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) said at the time, a figure starting with 39 would have been achieved. According to the new estimate, this is far off.

Without the Corona effects and the massively reduced traffic during the shutdown, the sector would have been ten percent above the target. On the other hand, the building sector overshot the target, partly due to high heating and electricity costs during the lockdown. There are therefore great uncertainties in the present figures, according to the chairman of the council Hans-Martin Henning. However, the German targets could be quickly overtaken again: The EU plans to increase the previously planned reduction in CO2 emissions from 55 to 68 percent, and UBA is currently calculating even 70 percent. This is quite possible, believes UBA head Dirk Messner. However, "time is increasingly running out," he explained to the SZ.