Not only with e-cars: immediate program for climate protection

Around 20 percent of CO₂ emissions in the EU are caused by road traffic, as explained by MEP Jan Huitema. There has been heated debate in recent weeks, and now the European Union has clarified the matter. After a 16-hour meeting, the environment ministers of all 27 EU member states approved the new EU Green Deal. One component is the ban on combustion engines from 2035. In addition to the EU-wide climate program, the Federal government presented an emergency program. After all, severe penalties threaten Germany.

Germany breaks the limit in the transport sector by around three million tons of CO₂ in 2021

Last year, the transport sector alone exceeded the limit by around three million tons of CO₂, even though less traffic was traveling through Germany due to increased home office and curfews. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing is therefore under pressure and has presented an immediate program in accordance with Section 8 Paragraph 1 of the Federal Climate Protection Act in order to balance the CO₂ balance again. Initially, however, the measures are manageable. In addition to an additional expansion of bicycle and pedestrian traffic by 2030, electrically operated truck trailers are to be promoted and the charging network for e-cars is to be expanded.

There could be further measures when the evaluation of the 9-euro ticket in public transport is available at the end of August. In the future, synthetic fuels such as e-fuels and biofuels are to be included in the 10th Ordinance on the Quality and Labeling of Fuels. So there should be incentives for the use of these fuels, which could be comparable to bio-ethanol in 2010. In addition, mobile working is to be made possible by law in the future, after all – according to a study – 700,000 company cars could become superfluous. Transport Minister Volker Wissing has admitted that a “majority of these measures” will only take effect gradually – so there can be no talk of immediate action.

Not everyone in the federal government is satisfied with the emergency program. For example, the coalition partner, the Greens, is demanding that vehicle tax be restructured and that there be a bonus-malus system. Drivers of e-cars could get money back, while drivers of cars with internal combustion engines would have to pay more money. In addition, climate-damaging subsidies should be reduced, according to the Greens. The Ministry of Transport has not said a word about the subsidy for electric cars and plug-in hybrids. At the time the article was written, the environmental bonus will expire completely on January 1, 2023, so that e-car buyers will only receive up to 6,000 euros from the state if the car is first registered in 2022.

Also worth reading: E-cars: Combustion engines will be phased out in the EU from 2035 – with some exceptions

Collection for the emergency program of the Ministry of Transport:

• In 2021, Germany exceeded the CO₂ limit by around three million tons of CO₂ in the transport sector alone. In order to protect itself from penalties, the federal government now wants to balance this CO₂ balance with an emergency program.
• In addition to an additional expansion of bicycle and pedestrian traffic by 2030, electrically operated truck trailers are to be promoted and the charging network for e-cars is to be expanded. In addition, they want to enable mobile working by means of a legal basis in order to save greenhouse gases.
• In the future, e-fuels will also be made more attractive. After an evaluation of the 9-euro ticket in August, there could be further measures.
• The Ministry of Transport has not said a word about the subsidy for e-cars and plug-in hybrids, so that the state purchase subsidy will probably be completely eliminated from 2023.

Source: BMVI