German govt to fall short of car CO2 emissions target

The German government's goal of putting 15 million electric cars on the roads by 2030 would still mean that the coalition - which includes the Green party - would miss its climate targets for the transport sector, according to a study released on Friday.

According to an analysis by the Wuppertal Institute and commissioned by the environmental organization Greenpeace, with 15 million battery-electric cars, passenger car traffic would still create over 64 million tons of carbon dioxide - a greenhouse gas - in 2030.

"To ensure that passenger car traffic emissions do not exceed 52 million tons per year, at least 20 million e-cars must be registered in Germany in 2030," the study said.

Germany's Climate Protection Act sets a target of no more than 85 million tons of CO2 for the transport sector in 2030 - this would correspond to a reduction of about 48 per cent compared to 1990 levels. For passenger cars, this means emissions have to be reduced to about 52 million tons by the same year.

Currently, according to data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, there are around 650,000 pure e-cars on German roads, out of a total of more than 48 million passenger cars.

The study said that further measures are needed for the government to meet its target, such as a ban on new registrations for cars with petrol and diesel engines from 2025 onwards and vehicle tax reform.

According to the research, in 2020 transport will account for about 146 million tons of CO2 emissions, almost 20 per cent of all CO2 emissions in Germany.

Greenpeace transport expert Tobias Austrup wrote in a foreword to the study that promoting and increasing the number of electric cars "promises faster significant emission reductions than the mobility turnaround, i.e. the avoidance and shifting of car journeys to climate-friendly alternatives such as public transport or cycling."