Berlin The federal government wants to achieve its climate protection goals in the transport sector with an immediate climate protection program. The package includes new funding programs and tax incentives, as stated in the draft from the department of Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP). This is available to the Handelsblatt.
It talks about a “Platform for climate protection in mobility” that will “develop a concrete bundle of socially and economically viable measures to reduce the remaining CO2 gap by the end of the year. This project focuses on measures that are effective in the medium and long term and can be launched in 2023.”
Wissing told the Handelsblatt: “We will not achieve the climate targets in the short term. However, it is important that we embark on a path that will lead us safely to climate neutrality.” Along the way, we always have to consider where things can be implemented more quickly. “It wouldn’t be wise to overwhelm people on the track for a short time.”
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“The program is to be decided by the cabinet in the summer,” said Wissing. Like the other departments, he has also made suggestions and appeals to the lead climate minister, Robert Habeck (Greens), to take the needs of the citizens into account. “Together we look for optimal solutions.”
The transport sector emitted around 146 million tons of carbon dioxide last year, three million tons more than the climate targets set – even though people and goods were less mobile due to the pandemic. This corresponds to around 20 percent of all emissions.
Climate Protection Act obliges Wissing to keep pace
Since not only the transport sector but also the building sector, industry and the energy sector have missed their targets, they too must react with immediate measures. They should all reduce emissions by at least 65 percent compared to 1990 levels. “Achieving the tightened goals of the Federal Climate Protection Act is an enormous challenge to which all sectors must make a demanding contribution,” says the draft of the emergency program.
In order to achieve the climate protection goals of the federal government, immediate programs are necessary – including in the transport sector.
(Photo: Reuters)
According to the Climate Protection Act, Transport Minister Volker Wissing must now ensure that the target in the transport sector is achieved again, this year and in the years to come. By 2030, emissions are expected to drop to 85 million tons.
So far, however, the transport sector has already blown 41 million tonnes of CO2 too much into the air, and according to the federal government’s projection report, the gap is likely to continue to grow.
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“Germany must become climate-neutral. And the transport sector must and will make a decisive contribution to this,” said Wissing last week in Berlin. This applies to passenger and freight traffic.
However, the balance sheet for the past few years is anything but good. “Sufficient structural changes for a sustainable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions have not been achieved in the transport sector in the past few decades,” says the draft.
In order to achieve the target set in the Climate Protection Act for 2030, “a significant increase in the proportion of electric mileage in road traffic” is necessary.
Wissing relies on purchase incentives and subsidy programs for e-cars
Accordingly, incentives to buy purely battery-powered vehicles are at the heart of the package of measures. For example, there should be “tax relief for the use of electric cars and commercial vehicles in order to increase the incentives for climate-friendly behavior”. A special depreciation of 50 percent in the first year for “exclusively fully electric vehicles and an extension to all electric company cars” is intended to further advance e-mobility.
The regulation is to apply from 2023 to 2026 and will no longer include plug-in hybrids in the future. No purchase premium should be paid for them either. This should only be possible when buying fully electric vehicles. Economics Minister Robert Habeck had already announced that from next year he only wanted to pay out the purchase bonus for purely electric cars and no longer for hybrids. However, there are no details in the design.
In addition to the tax incentives, Wissing is focusing on expanding the charging infrastructure. The “master plan for charging infrastructure” that the ministry is currently developing and intends to present before the summer break is important for this. In it, the minister wants to lay down the goals and measures to set up charging stations for cars and commercial vehicles.
There is currently still criticism of the draft, which comes from both the energy industry and the municipalities. “We must not use discussions to hang things in a loop,” warned Wissing.
E-trucks are to be funded for longer – tolls for small trucks are planned
Existing funding programs, for example for fleet renewal at leasing providers, car brokers or car sharing providers and taxi companies, should be “designed to be simpler and more suitable for medium-sized companies” and in the future it will also be possible to include funding for the charging infrastructure. The government wants to increase subsidies for the purchase of electrically operated trucks (fully electric, hybrid or fuel cell) and their charging infrastructure and promise to do so by the end of 2028. The reason is simple: Market maturity is “not expected until the mid-20s”.
Because the market maturity of e-trucks is still a long way off, the federal government wants to expand the funding.
(Photo: dpa)
The tool kit provides for the truck toll for heavy commercial vehicles as the only regulatory measure. The European vignette directive makes it possible to levy a CO2 surcharge from 2023, which could bring in up to seven billion euros.
The coalition also wants to include so-called craftsmen’s vehicles, trucks from 3.5 tons, in the toll obligation in the future. The CO2 surcharge, on the other hand, should not be technically possible until 2024, according to the state toll operator Toll Collect.
Wissing believes that people and companies will be happy to use “climate-friendly alternatives”. To this end, he wants to “intensify communication on climate protection measures in transport”. According to the draft budget, his ministry wants to double spending on public relations to five million euros.
In the last legislative period, the FDP had sharply criticized the size of the public relations budget of the then CSU-led ministry.
Although Wissing does not want to specify any technology, the draft mentions a “focus on electrification” in order to “minimize the overall economic costs”. The transformation of the automotive industry is to be accompanied by a “strategy platform” “to ensure the goal of climate neutrality, value creation, and jobs and training positions”. A corresponding platform was located directly in the Federal Chancellery in the last electoral term.
Wissing wants to get more traffic onto the rails
In addition, the FDP politician is committed to shifting traffic to rail. “Rail is the central basis for climate-friendly, efficient mobility,” he said in Berlin, referring to the investment funds of 9.4 billion euros for the rail network. Local transport is also important.
There Wissing insists on structural reforms before making more money available. The first test should be the so-called nine-euro ticket. With nine euros per month, people should be able to use buses and trains nationwide in June, July and August. “It’s a huge opportunity for municipalities and transport associations to get new customers interested in local transport,” the minister is certain.
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