Intraplan Study Munich: Climate Goals Achievable Only with Major Reduction in Car Usage

The green-red governed Bavarian state capital Munich has commissioned a report through its public transport subsidiaries MVG and MVV to determine how climate targets can be achieved by 2030. The Intraplan Consult office comes to clear conclusions: The goals are ambitious but feasible with the greatest efforts. Central to this is a drastic reduction of emissions in car traffic, which must decrease by 50 percent compared to 1990 and by 55 percent compared to 2018. According to the assessors' estimation, CO2 emissions in public transport, including long-distance traffic, could drop by 69 percent by 2030 compared to 1990. The absolute relation is also interesting: In 2018, public transport in Munich emitted 131,692 tons of CO2, while car traffic emitted 3.3 million tons. Accordingly, the reduction target is now ambitiously set at 1.5 million tons. The experts modeled traffic policy measures in the field of motorized individual transport that make the use of personal cars more expensive and unattractive, such as raising parking fees or creating a largely car-free old town.

The report is based on the EU climate protection targets and the German climate protection law: The EU mandates a 55 percent reduction in transport emissions by 2030, while the German law aims for a moderate 42 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030. However, the new EU guidelines also imply a 53 percent reduction in CO2 emissions in the transport sector by 2030 for Germany, according to the assessors. The study aimed to determine whether this is also possible for Munich. Their conclusion: The goal is very achievable.

Take action on all fronts

For a metropolis like the state capital, analysts calculate, taking into account a wide range of measures led by strong regulation and reduction of car traffic while simultaneously expanding the environmental network of public transport, cycling, and walking. But "new mobility" like on-demand services would also be important elements. The already decided expansion of shared mobility offers has been considered an important complementary component. The experts also note that much of this is already in the pipeline, decided upon, or even being implemented, such as new tram lines, a second S-Bahn main route, the old town bike ring, or high-speed cycle routes, such as to the research site in Garching. A fundamental assumption of the report is the strong electrification of existing transport, in buses and regional trains as well as in cars and taxis. To get closer to the targets, Munich's mobility director Georg Dunkel called for greater leeway to act.

"As a municipality, we also need more opportunities to act independently, for example in terms of parking fees," Dunkel outlined.

From his point of view, it is not possible to achieve the climate targets without the appropriate legal framework and adequate financial support, although he feels confirmed by the report in the path the city has already taken. MVG CEO Ingo Wortmann also emphasized that "significantly more funding" is needed. There is no lack of insight, but a deficiency in implementation.