Ukraine War: Lindner Against Speed Limit - Habeck for Energy Saving

Against the backdrop of the Ukraine war and the energy crisis, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck (Greens) has called for energy savings. Every kilowatt-hour of energy saved helps, every consumer and the industry are asked to contribute here. Meanwhile, FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner once again rejected a speed limit. On Heute Journal, he explained that considering the size of the task, the impact of such a measure is marginal. He also defended the reduction in fuel prices, stating that the government should not intercept taxes in this difficult situation. Furthermore, "all European countries" would provide relief through fuel prices, he justified. According to calculations, a speed limit of 100 km/h could reduce oil imports by two percent, countered ZDF moderator Marietta Slomka.

Economist Monika Schnitzer also stated that she considers a speed limit effective and bearable. "Especially in the context of the war in Ukraine, a multifaceted energy saving kills two birds with one stone: securing the energy supply, especially for the next winter, and climate protection through less combustion. It is the task of politics to explain this to the people in Germany," the economist told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

She also spoke out against the fuel price reduction, which was decided at the urging of the FDP in the latest relief package. It is not clear whether the measures will be effective at all. The economist referred to an earlier study, which found that almost half of the state aid went to oil companies and that the tax cut was not passed on to motorists.

"But above all, it is the completely wrong signal. For reasons of the energy transition and now also for supply security, we cannot continue as before. We must generally save energy in the future, drive less and slower - and for this we need these price signals," appealed the economics professor from Munich.

As a recent Greenpeace calculation recently demonstrated, quickly implementable measures could temporarily reduce the import of Russian oil to Germany by about one-third. The analysis "No Oil for War" examined the saving potential of ten immediate measures. The calculations show that a temporary speed limit of 100 km/h on highways and 80 km/h on rural roads, for example, could reduce Germany's oil imports by about 2.5 percent per year. Extending the home office obligation in parts could save another 1.7 percent, and foregoing every second leisure car trip of over 20 kilometers could even save 2.6 percent. In total, the ten measures could reduce Germany's oil demand by ten to twelve percent. The share of Russian oil in Germany is about 32 percent.