German Environmental Aid: Directly Use GHG Quota for Electric Transition

The NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) has welcomed the expansion of the greenhouse gas quota regulation (GHG quota) to the e-mobility sector, but at the same time has called for the reduction of fossil subsidies and the direct use of revenues for the electrification of mobility. Since the beginning of the year, oil companies have been able to purchase certificates from e-mobilists or charging infrastructure operators to fulfill the GHG quota, or alternatively set up their own charging stations. Municipal utilities in public transport or operators of e-truck fleets can also generate revenue through GHG quota trading. The NGO fundamentally supports the regulation, stating that compared to agrofuels, direct electricity use in e-vehicles is a "significantly more climate-friendly, energy- and space-efficient propulsion option," the organization explains.

Eliminate Fossil Subsidies and Agrofuel Credits

However, it is also clear that such certificate trading cannot ensure a rapid and complete phase-out of fossil fuels. A whole bundle of measures is needed, primarily the reduction of climate-damaging subsidies and a genuine mobility and transport transition with the strengthening of the environmental alliance of foot, bicycle, and public transport.

Since 2015, oil companies have had to meet a GHG quota, which according to DUH is almost exclusively achieved through the blending of biogenic fuels into regular fuel, such as diesel from rapeseed or palm oil and ethanol from grain (E10). However, the production of agrofuels causes massive harm to the climate and the environment. It also came under criticism due to the grain crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The DUH demanded the elimination of GHG quota fulfillment through agrofuels. In Germany, agricultural land is still being used to grow fuel crops instead of food for the population. About 60 percent of Germany's rapeseed cultivation area is used for growing rapeseed oil for agrofuel, and twelve percent of the grain used in Germany is used for energy purposes, the NGO reports.

Direct Investment of Revenues in E-Mobility

The DUH also pointed out that the revenues from the e-GHG quota in the case of electric commercial vehicle fleets with vans, buses, or trucks must flow into the expansion of electromobility and not into the rehabilitation of municipal budgets or vehicle companies. The NGO also called for the addition of mechanisms that would directly, not just indirectly, promote the expansion of e-mobility on the road. So far, it is up to the oil companies whether they purchase certificates or build charging infrastructure.