What contribution can Germany make to climate protection?

This question plays an important role in the election campaign.

However, as different as the approaches of the parties are, the parliamentary groups themselves deal with their respective CO₂ emissions differently.

The FDP announced in March of last year: “We are the first climate-neutral parliamentary group!” The FDP parliamentary group has offset 940 tonnes of carbon dioxide since the beginning of the current legislative period by shutting down EU emission allowances.

A further 235 tons had been added by July this year.

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The corresponding certificates were issued by "50ZERO", an organization that buys and decommissioned emission certificates.

A certificate entitles you to emit one tonne of CO₂ or an equivalent amount of other greenhouse gases.

The number of available rights decreases every year.

Around 11,000 European companies, including electricity producers and parts of industry and aviation, have to participate in the European Union's emissions trading system.

Emissions trading as a climate protection instrument

The system has come under fire because, in the opinion of climate activists, the certificates are far too cheap.

The FDP, on the other hand, is also relying on European emissions trading in its current election program to get market participants to invest in climate-friendly technology.

At the request of the FAZ, the parliamentary group announced that 29.77 euros net per ton had been paid for the emissions between 2017 and 2019.

For 2020, the Liberals paid 58.70 euros per ton.

That adds up to 41,800 euros with which air travel, the use of company cars and taxis were compensated.

In addition, the FDP parliamentary group has been working largely paperless since the beginning of the legislative period, according to the press office.

The SPD parliamentary group is also trying to offset its CO₂ emissions.

Business trips and trips with company cars are offset by payments to the climate protection organization atmosfair.

According to our own calculations, 77.8 tons of carbon dioxide were generated in 2019.

For this, the Social Democrats paid a so-called climate protection contribution of 1789 euros.

Atmosfair thus promotes efficient cooking systems for families in Nigeria, electricity generation from mustard residues in India and the construction of biogas plants for households in Kenya.

For 2020, the calculation is not yet fully completed, announced the SPD parliamentary group.

But compensation is also to be paid for last year. After careful consideration, the CDU / CSU parliamentary group also opted for atmosfair to compensate for the group's employees' car and air travel.

AfD and the left do not measure CO₂ emissions

Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen consider such compensations to be window dressing. “If other groups describe themselves as 'climate neutral' just because they primarily make CO₂ compensation payments, then this is primarily used for their own PR,” they criticize. The green parliamentary group is trying, for example, to work as climate-friendly as possible with the help of electrically powered company cars, bicycles for employees and sustainable catering at events. "Wherever no real CO₂ savings are possible, for example when it is not possible to take the train and have to switch to an airplane, CO₂ compensation is carried out."

From the factions of the AfD and the Left, however, it is said that greenhouse gas emissions are not measured.

Accordingly, the emissions are not offset.

The Left adds that MPs donated part of their diets to environmental projects.

Bundestag administration also compensates

In June, during the last week of session of this legislative period, the Bundestag decided that Germany should become climate neutral by 2045.

The opposition voted unanimously against the plans of the Union and the SPD to achieve the goal of climate neutrality five years earlier than previously planned.

The FDP, the Greens and the Left rejected the law as being too ambitious and not efficient.

The AfD denied that there is CO₂-related climate change.

Parliament's administration has long been concerned with this issue.

In 2019, the Bundestag's Council of Elders decided to offset the CO₂ emissions from business trips through climate protection measures.

Two weeks ago, the committee then approved a proposal by the Federal Environment Agency to offset part of the emissions with credits from a project to generate electricity from biomass in India.