climate protection - Experts warn: Country is at risk of missing climate goals
Baden-Württemberg is at risk of missing its Climate Goals. This is according to a report presented by scientists in Stuttgart. The experts calculated in a so-called Climate Projections Report how well Baden-Württemberg is on track to achieve its climate goals.
The state has set itself the goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 65% compared to 1990 by 2030 and becoming climate neutral by 2040 – five years earlier than what was decided for Germany as a whole. The report states that the land will not reach the interim goal of 2030. According to the report, the land will only reduce its CO2 emissions by 53% by then. The goal of climate neutrality by 2040 is also far off. The report predicts that the land will still emit 21 million tonnes of CO2. In order to still achieve these goals, further measures are required, according to the report.
Concerned Parties: Transport and Agriculture
The sectors that are furthest away from their targets are above all transport and agriculture. In the transport sector, CO2 emissions have been more or less stagnant for years, and the Statistical Office even recorded a slight increase in CO2 emissions compared to the previous year. The sector's climate goal for 2030 is therefore significantly missed according to the scientists' predictions. The emissions in the transport sector are predicted to only decrease by 32% by then. The goal of climate neutrality by 2040 is also far off. The sector is predicted to emit around 6.7 million tonnes of CO2 per year in 2040. The reason for this, according to the report, is the slow progress of electromobility and the high need for modernization of the rail network, which makes a switch to the train more difficult.
The agriculture sector is also predicted to significantly miss its climate goals. A reduction of emissions by 39% was planned in this sector by 2030, but according to the report, only around 30% will be achieved. The goal for 2040 is even further off. The sector is predicted to still emit around 4 million tonnes of CO2 per year. From the experts' perspective, measures in this sector have little effect, and concrete measures in livestock farming are lacking.
Goals in the Energy Sector within Reach
In the energy sector, the goals are also not being met. However, the announced but not yet written-in measures have not been taken into account. For example, EnBW announced last year that it wanted to stop using coal by 2028. If the coal-fired power plants in the Southwest are shut down before 2030, the sector goal in the energy sector would be within reach, according to the experts.
Environmentalists: "We need more courage"
Environmental Minister Thekla Walker (Greens) commented: "Even if we don't reach the goals yet: We can reach them." The report shows, however, that the planned measures must also be implemented.
However, it looks better in the building sector. According to the report, the goals will be met by 2030 in this sector. In waste disposal, the goals will even be exceeded.
The BUND (Federation for Environment and Nature Protection) called for a consistent implementation of climate policy in the southwest. "We need courage right away: less car traffic, switching from fossil fuel to electric cars, and massive investments in trains, buses, and bicycles," said the state chairwoman Sylvia Pilarsky-Grosch. In agriculture, the rewetting of moors and stronger incentives for organic farming are important instruments.
Opposition demanded another course
The FDP in the state parliament spoke out again for the abolition of sector targets. "The sector targets of the state government are currently failing in reality and could only be achieved through immediate and excessive interventions in the sectors of agriculture and transportation," said the climate policy spokesman Daniel Karrais. However, one should not forget about the people who still have to go to work. "Who drives a car, does so mostly because there is no time-attractive alternative," so Karrais.
The climate policy spokesman of the AfD fraction, Uwe Hellstern, called the climate goals of the state "completely unrealistic." They were also "absolutely disastrous" for the local economy. The Climate Protection Law therefore had to be abolished.
Projections report
The current interim result of Baden-Württemberg's efforts to meet its climate goals indicates a shortfall, as the state is projected to reduce its CO2 emissions by only 53% by 2030, falling significantly short of the target of 65%. ('Interim result', 'Climate Goals', 'Baden-Württemberg', 'CO2 emissions')
Umwelt, the German term for environment, is a crucial factor in the climate discussion, particularly in Stuttgart, the city where a Climate Projections Report was recently presented, highlighting Baden-Württemberg's struggle to meet its climate goals. ('Umwelt', 'Stuttgart', 'Climate Projections Report', 'Baden-Württemberg', 'Climate Goals')
Despite the challenges in sectors like agriculture and transport in achieving its climate goals, Baden-Württemberg still has opportunities to reduce emissions, such as promoting electromobility and modernizing the rail network in the transport sector and implementing concrete measures in livestock farming in agriculture. ('Baden-Württemberg', 'challenges', 'electromobility', 'rail network', 'livestock farming')
