German coalition agrees more flexible climate protection law

The parliamentary groups of Germany's ruling coalition on Monday agreed on a more flexible climate protection law that would give leeway to underperforming sectors while also binding the government to detail climate protection measures from 2030. After a top court ruled in 2021 that Germany must tighten its climate protection law, the then-government set more ambitious CO2 emissions reduction targets, including reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.

The parliamentary groups of Germany's ruling coalition on Monday agreed on a more flexible climate protection law that would give leeway to underperforming sectors while also binding the government to detail climate protection measures from 2030.

After a top court ruled in 2021 that Germany must tighten its climate protection law, the then-government set more ambitious CO2 emissions reduction targets, including reaching carbon neutrality by 2045. Until now, various sectors, such as energy, transport, industry and agriculture had to meet their own annual greenhouse emissions targets. Ministers responsible for those that missed them, had to launch an immediate programme to put them back on track.

With Germany's transport sector consistently falling behind, the pro-business FDP party, which leads the transport ministry, has campaigned for changes in the law so sectors that could not meet their goals would get some leeway as long as the national CO2 limits were not exceeded. In an attempt to speed up the approval of the proposed changes, Transport Minister Volker Wissing warned last week that without them his ministry would have to impose a ban on driving on weekends to abide by the current rules.

"Abolishing the annual sector targets in the Climate Protection Act ensures that there will be no driving bans," FDP deputy parliamentary group leader Lukas Koehler said in a statement on Monday. While creating more flexibility on annual targets, the new law also obliges the government for the first time to introduce concrete climate protection measures for the 2030-2040 period.

"We are giving climate protection in Germany a strong update that will make it fit for the next 20 years on Germany's path to climate neutrality," Greens lawmaker Julia Verlinden said.

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