Taxpayers face billions in costs if Germany misses climate protection goals

Germany's climate protection efforts are proving insufficient to achieve its climate protection targets for 2020 as well as for the period from 2021 to 2030 in the areas of transport, buildings and agriculture, according to a joint report by sister think tanks Agora Energiewende and Agora Verkehrswende*. Germany’s climate protection targets in the sectors not covered by the EU emissions trading scheme ETS are legally binding under EU law. If Germany does not achieve them, it will have to buy additional emission rights from other EU countries at the level of the deficit, which could lead to billions in annual payments. “Instead of transferring billions of tax revenues to other EU countries every year, it seems more appropriate to take effective measures at home: for investments in energy-efficient buildings, faster refurbishment of buildings, advancing transport, and greater climate protection contributions from agriculture,” the study finds.

Read the report here.

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

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