T&E Analysis: Drastic Reduction of Fossil-Fuel Vehicle Kilometers Needed for Climate Targets

According to new calculations by the European environmental umbrella organization Transport & Environment (T&E), Germany would need to drastically reduce vehicle kilometers driven with fossil fuels to still achieve the federal government's climate targets in the transport sector. The fact that investments in Autobahn GmbH will rise by almost 500 million euros to more than 6 billion euros in the current budget plan, while a strict austerity policy applies otherwise, thwarts the climate targets in the transport sector, the NGO criticizes. According to the calculations, vehicle kilometers driven with internal combustion engines must decrease by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 2018 to still achieve the climate targets. Even an ambitious electrification of the vehicle fleet cannot fully compensate for this decrease. Including electric vehicles, vehicle kilometers would still need to be reduced by 24 percent by 2030. If road traffic performance remains unchanged compared to 2018, the "budget" of kilometers defined in the Climate Protection Act by 2023 would be exhausted by the course of 2027.