Green Party leader Ricarda Lang is demanding more climate protection measures from Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP).
“Every sector, every area has to deliver.
And that applies in particular to the transport sector, which is still lagging behind,” said Lang on Thursday in Berlin.
The Expert Council for Climate Issues had previously rejected Wissing's climate plan as completely inadequate.
There are many possible approaches in the transport sector.
For example, the Greens are campaigning for a reform of the company car privilege, want to extend the 9-euro ticket for local transport and are demanding a speed limit on German autobahns.
"But what's not possible is just saying 'no' all the time," says Lang.
"Because the challenge is too great for that." After all, Germany wants to become climate-neutral.
It needs a jolt.
A comprehensive immediate climate protection program must be in place by September in order to be able to meet the 2030 targets.
With the immediate climate protection programs presented by the government for the building and transport sectors, Germany is in danger of falling further short of its climate targets in these areas, according to an independent panel of experts.
The Council of Experts for Climate Issues announced on Thursday in Berlin that there is still a large gap in efforts to reduce greenhouse gases in transport.
Environmental groups reacted with outrage.
"Rejection of work in the matter of climate protection"
"According to the Ministry of Transport, the emergency program for the transport sector saves only 14 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions, so that there is still a mathematical performance gap of 261 megatons by 2030," explained Brigitte Knopf, Deputy Chairwoman of the Expert Council.
The ministry has only presented plans to fill the gap in emissions from the previous year, which is "a very specific interpretation" of the Climate Protection Act.
In addition, the House of Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) referred to the planned comprehensive immediate climate protection program of the federal government, which the expert council will also examine.
The experts have therefore dispensed with a comprehensive examination of the immediate transport programme.
"In the transport sector, the overarching emergency climate protection program will have to go far beyond the sectoral emergency program that has been submitted," said Knopf.
The German Climate Alliance accused Wissing of "refusing to work on climate protection" and called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to act.
Other ministries are better off
The Expert Council rated the greenhouse gas savings plans for the building sector, for which Klara Geywitz's (SPD) Ministry of Construction and Robert Habeck's (Greens) Ministry of Economic Affairs are responsible, as slightly better.
The program envisages greenhouse gas savings of 137 megatons by 2030, which would mean that Germany would have achieved its overall climate targets in this area by then.
By 2027, however, the annual targets would still be exceeded.
"Whether the savings can really be realized to this extent seems questionable after our examination," remarked the chairman of the expert council, Hans-Martin Henning.
The bottom line is that compliance with the climate protection requirements is not guaranteed by the emergency program, according to the Council.
Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Habeck said according to the announcement that the government is now obliged to decide on the immediate climate protection program in September.
All areas must make their contribution.
"It's not about abstract numbers, it's about preserving the basis for a life of freedom and prosperity."
Germany has set annual climate protection targets for various areas.
If these are missed, the ministries concerned must submit emergency programs with additional efforts to save greenhouse gases.
The Expert Council has now evaluated these programmes.
The Council is an independent body of five experts nominated by the federal government.
According to preliminary figures, Germany's emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases increased by 4.5 percent last year, as the Federal Environment Agency announced in March.
Even a year later, Germany is still missing the target set for 2020 of 40 percent less greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990. Emissions fell by only 38.7 percent compared to 1990.