Werbung
Werbung

Mobility Summit: "Weak Climate Policy Would Be Sweet Poison for the Automotive Industry"

Christian Hochfeld, head of the think tank Agora, participated in the high-level talks at the Chancellery and urges ambitious transport policies to secure not only climate goals but also economic success. The general consensus of the meeting: It was good to have talked.

Not just cars at the Mobility Summit: Organizations like Zukunft Fahrrad criticized the one-sided focus of the high-level meeting in a broad coalition of companies and associations. They called for a new traffic law and the "Bicycle Billion" in annual investments in cycling infrastructure during a cargo bike tour through the government district. | Photo: Zukunft Fahrrad
Not just cars at the Mobility Summit: Organizations like Zukunft Fahrrad criticized the one-sided focus of the high-level meeting in a broad coalition of companies and associations. They called for a new traffic law and the "Bicycle Billion" in annual investments in cycling infrastructure during a cargo bike tour through the government district. | Photo: Zukunft Fahrrad
Werbung
Werbung
Johannes Reichel

After the expected fruitless first top-level meeting of the so-called "Strategy Platform for the Transformation of the Automotive and Mobility Industry" at the Chancellery, the director of the Berlin think tank Agora Verkehrswende, Christian Hochfeld, delivered a mixed verdict. Hochfeld participated as a member of the "Expert Circle on the Transformation of the Automotive Industry" (ETA) at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. It is indeed good if climate policy in transportation becomes a top priority. For Agora chief Hochfeld, however, that is not enough.

"Here too, it becomes evident that economic success and ambitious climate protection are only conceivable together. Weak climate policy would be sweet poison for the automotive industry. The automotive industry needs planning and investment security for the transition to electromobility," Hochfeld appealed.

If 15 million fully electric cars are to be on the roads in Germany by 2030 and a third of road freight transport is to be carried out electrically, then it is the responsibility of politics to create the necessary framework conditions.

"It is therefore high time for a tax and financial reform in road transport aimed at climate neutrality. This includes, for example, an effective and socially balanced further development of vehicle and company car taxation," demanded Hochfeld.

The top-level meeting with 39 participants had focused on the transformation of the automotive industry. The consensus after the meeting was that it was good to reconvene this high-profile group, as reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung from participant circles. There had rightly been high public expectations associated with this top-level meeting, particularly regarding climate protection, Hochfeld continued. In his view, the federal government has the most catching up to do in the transport sector. Top-level meetings can help here if the topics are oriented towards climate protection and the participation is diverse.

"It's not just about the decarbonization of vehicles, but also about shifting from road and air transport to rail and ship," Hochfeld continued.

It is now expected that the federal government will present a comprehensive climate protection immediate action program by the end of the first quarter, which will also define a reliable path to climate neutrality for the transport sector. Hochfeld described the discussion about this immediate action program as a "good occasion for a next meeting at the Chancellery," in which representatives of all transport carriers necessary for the transport transition should participate, from buses and trains to walking and cycling.

"Climate protection and securing the mobility of tomorrow can only succeed as a collective effort," Hochfeld emphasized. 

The think tank is also represented in the "Expert Advisory Board for Climate Protection in Mobility" (EKM) at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport with its deputy director, Wiebke Zimmer. An interim report by Agora Verkehrswende on climate policy in transport after one year of the traffic light coalition, with recommendations for a course towards climate neutrality, economic efficiency, and social justice, was recently published. The authors succinctly titled their analysis "One Year of Swift Stagnation".

Finally, the Grünheide plant manager Andre Thierig from Tesla was also retroactively invited, alongside the heads of the most important German manufacturers, the president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry, Hildegard Müller, and the involved ministries—Finance, Economic Affairs, Labor, Environment, and Transport—as well as IG Metall.

Its chief, Jörg Hofmann, took the opposing position to Hochfeld and warned that while "all resources need to be pooled towards the transformation to electric drive trains," combustion engines should not be written off too quickly, for example, through "incomprehensible new emission standards." After all, 280,000 employees are still working in gasoline and diesel technology.

From the political side, the Greens fundamentally welcomed the top-level meeting at the Chancellery but called for more action. They called for bold steps and clear priorities from both industry and politics. They once again advocated for accelerating bridge repairs and expanding rail infrastructure, as well as speeding up the expansion of charging infrastructure for electric cars.

"It's good that the federal government is hosting a mobility summit because there is much too much stagnation in climate protection in transport. To achieve climate targets, the transport sector must finally make its fair contribution," demanded parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge.

Translated automatically from German.
Werbung

Branchenguide

Werbung