Govt spending must be more targeted to achieve emission reductions – Court of Auditors

The German state’s climate action measures lack a targeted approach to achieving its greenhouse gas reduction goals, the Court of Auditors (Bundesrechnungshof) has found in a special report. Based on the performance of the previous government before the end of 2021, the financial authority found that Germany cannot reach its goal of becoming climate neutral by 2045 with the measures currently in force. The federal government is currently funding over 100 support programmes for climate protection - with billions of euros. “For most programmes, however, it is not clear how much they contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases,” the report finds. Money also flows into ineffective and inefficient programmes, they say. “The goal must be to direct the billions of euros to where they will have the greatest possible impact,” Court of Auditors’ president Kay Scheller said.  The auditors recommend that the government implements a systematic analysis of expenditures and revenues as to their climate impact (climate tracking). All climate-damaging subsidies should be put to the test.

The new German government, which took office in December 2021, has announced a major climate action and renewables push to reach a new target of 100 percent renewable electricity in 2035. In their coalition agreement, the three parties also promised to set up a “climate check” – each ministry thus has to check the climate impact of their proposed laws and their compatibility with the national climate targets.