Berlin A new debate has flared up in Germany about what measures should be taken to respond to rising energy prices. A move by SPD leader Saskia Esken is particularly controversial. The social democrat had proposed a speed limit on motorways or driving bans with reference to the Energy Security Act.
This law was passed in 1975 in response to the oil crisis and allows the government to impose temporary restrictions such as driving bans on Sundays.
The SPD energy politician Nina Scheer supports the proposals. The Social Democrats had already spoken out in their election program for a speed limit of 130, Scheer told the Handelsblatt. “General regulations, such as those that could apply to flexibly designed car-free Sundays, work independently of price effects.”
Sunday driving bans are viewed critically in Lower Saxony and Bremen. “I think the discussion about general driving bans is difficult,” said Lower Saxony’s Energy Minister Olaf Lies (SPD). “It’s not about restricting mobility.” Because there is no problem on the supply side, but a “definite price problem”. With driving bans, “we would punish drivers twice,” Lies warned.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Bremen’s Senator for Transport and Chairwoman of the Conference of Transport Ministers (VMK), Maike Schaefer (Greens), referred to the experience with Sunday driving bans in 1973. At the time, the bans had “only a moderate effect”, said Schaefer.
FDP promotes tank discounts
In contrast, Schaefer described a general speed limit on motorways of 130 kilometers per hour as “long overdue”. This is “not only an important issue in relation to the Ukraine war and rising fuel costs, but also for climate protection and road safety,” she said.
>> Read also: What’s the point of speed limits or car-free days?
The FDP transport politician Bernd Reuther rejected the measures proposed by Esken as “symbolic political aberrations” that do not help in the current situation.
Consumer advocates, however, see common austerity measures such as car-free Sundays as “sensible actions”.
The Berlin Greens promote one car-free Sunday per month. Greenpeace is more ambitious and calculates that if a car-free Sunday were declared twice a month, fuel sales would decrease by 1.3 million tons over the course of a year.
Instead, the FDP politician Reuther promotes the tank discount enforced by his party. “A look at our neighboring countries like the Netherlands shows that the tank discount is an effective measure to relieve the burden on citizens immediately.”
On April 1st, the Netherlands pushed through a reduction in fuel prices. Taxes on fuel have thus fallen by 21 percent. However, the prices there were significantly higher than in Germany before.
Habeck wants to tighten antitrust law
In Germany, the energy tax on motor fuels was reduced for a limited period of three months at the beginning of June. However, there is criticism of the mineral oil companies because the fuel prices are clearly too high despite the tax cut. Economics Minister Habeck is therefore also aiming for a tightening of antitrust law.
The SPD politician Scheer thinks this is the right way. “It cannot be that the fear of shortages and speculation is used to earn money,” she said. “That’s why it’s also necessary to take up or tackle the excess profit tax and antitrust law here.”
>> Read also: “Large-scale tax evasion”: Expert warns against ecological VAT reform
Habeck had also advocated reducing dependence on Russian energy by saving energy. The Green politician relies on the participation of the citizens. Everyone must try to make their contribution, he explained recently when presenting his new energy-saving campaign.
Habeck’s proposals seem mild compared to state intervention. For example, the minister recommends regularly defrosting the freezer compartment, changing the shower head or switching the lighting in offices to LED. That reduces consumption – and “if a lot of people do it, it really makes a difference overall”.
The Habeck campaign with ads in train stations, social networks or elsewhere on the Internet has the motto “80 million together for the energy change”, which refers to the population of Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 83.2 million people lived in this country.
Evaluate experiences with the nine-euro ticket and expand local transport
Bremen’s transport senator Schaefer also considers a change in transport policy necessary to move away from the internal combustion engine. “This requires offers that are more attractive than the car: well-developed public transport, safe footpaths and cycle paths as well as an adequate charging infrastructure for e-cars and attractive sharing offers,” she said.
Lower Saxony’s Energy Minister Lies advised that the findings from the accompanying market research on the nine-euro ticket to make local public transport (ÖPNV) more attractive and expand it.
“After the nine-euro ticket, we must not fall back into the past,” said the SPD politician. “Better options by bus and train are the right answer.” That helps to recover the “exploded mobility costs”.
More: Comment on the tank discount: Oil companies may think the state is stupid – but it is not defenseless