New German think tank aims to boost zero-emission mobility

Tackling carbon emissions in the transport sector is the necessary and logical next step for Germany following from its energy transition, said the former head of the UN environment programme (UNEP) Achim Steiner at the launch event of the Agora Verkehrswende, a new think tank aimed at driving the decarbonisation of mobility. He stressed that the efforts were not only part of climate protection but also crucial for the future success of Germany’s renowned carmakers. Other countries had taken the lead on some of the cutting-edge low-carbon technologies. “The business location Germany has to ask itself what will be the mobility platform of the future and who will be the main competitors,” Steiner said. Steiner will chair the council of the think tank, a regular platform where representatives of national, regional and local governments, industry, environmental groups, science and civil society will meet to discuss the challenges and solutions of the path towards a zero-emission mobility system. Speaking at the same event, German environment state secretary Jochen Flasbarth said that the world was still “galaxies” away from sustainable mobility. Given the goal of a largely carbon-emission free economy by 2050, Germany effectively had to end the use of combustion engines in new cars by 2030, Flasbarth said. The director of Agora Verkehrswende, Christian Hochfeld, stressed the need for specific emission reduction targets for the transport sector. The new think tank is a joint initiative of the Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation, who also fund the energy transition think tank Agora Energiewende and the Clean Energy Wire.

Find the media release on the European Climate Foundation’s website.

Find background on the decarbonisation of the German transport sector in the CLEW dossier.