Green transport is not just about phasing out diesel – opinion

Dieselgate and looming driving bans due to pollution in cities have triggered a discussion about the future of the combustion engine in Germany, but much more is required to decarbonise transport, writes researcher Weert Canzler in an opinion piece in Die Welt. “A transport transition implies more than just changing the engine. It’s about an efficient link-up of different modes of transport, which has become possible thanks to digitalisation.” Germans will have to move beyond the antiquated idea of the private car, writes Canzler. A green transport revolution requires an ambitious policy framework, he says, so the government should now agree to phase out new combustion engines by 2030. This would give carmakers the planning security necessary to shift research and development to alternative propulsion systems.

Read the opinion piece in German here.   

For background on decarbonising transport, read the dossiers Car giant Germany struggles to ignite Energiewende in transportation and BMW, Daimler, and VW vow to fight in green transport revolution.