“Speed! Speed! Speed!”

An expert panel wants to speed up the transformation of Germany’s transport sector to lower emissions and greater electric mobility, Sven Böll and Horand Knaup write for Der Spiegel. In its new study, the think tank Agora Verkehrswende*, an initator of the panel, warns that “without a transport transition, Germany as a car manufacturing location is in danger,” Böll and Knaup write. If Germany were to meet its climate targets, energy transition would have to be succeeded by a transport transition brought about by “determined political action,” the study adds. The experts call for tighter CO₂ emissions controls, e-car quotas and more efficient calibration of public and goods transport systems. “Millions of people will have to change their daily habits,” Agora Verkehrswende’s head Christian Hochfeld told Der Spiegel. This could only work “if a majority accepts that there needs to be a change,” he added.  

See the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany’s transport sector for more information.

*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Verkehrswende is funded by the Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.