German govt to present climate action programme for all sectors

Germany’s government will make good on a key coalition agreement promise this week and present an “immediate climate action programme” with measures in all economic sectors, reports Tagesspiegel Background. The programme will include measures and rules for energy, industry and agriculture, as well as for transport and buildings. Both the transport and the buildings (heating) sectors failed their annual emission reduction targets in 2021, and the climate action law stipulates that the government must introduce immediate action programmes to ensure they would reach targets in the future. Tagesspiegel also writes that measures the government had promised as part of a ”summer package” of climate and energy legislation are not published in bulk, but rather be decided step by step.

As part of their coalition agreement, the three government partners – Social Democrats (SPD), Green Party and pro-business FDP – had said they would introduce the immediate action programme “with all necessary laws, regulations and measures.” During a first stock take and presentation of future policy measures, economy minister Robert Habeck in January 2022 said that Germany was failing its emission reduction goals in 2021 and 2022 and was headed for a 15 percent target miss in 2030 if no new measures were deployed.