E-cars will not close Germany’s emissions gap – commentary

Environment minister Svenja Schulze’s push for e-mobility will not allow Germany to meet its 2030 emissions reduction target, Dieter Seifried writes in a commentary for Frankfurter Rundschau. That's because the electricity needed to power electric vehicles would come from coal- or gas-fired power plants, according to Seifried. “In the end, the additional electricity demand for charging e-vehicles will lead to additional power generation in fossil-fuelled power plants,” he writes. Other measures to reduce transport emissions, such as speed limits and driving restrictions, have not been considered because of stiff opposition from the transport minister, he writes.

Read the commentary in German here.

For background, read the dossier The energy transition and Germany’s transport sector and the factsheet Sector coupling – Shaping an integrated renewable energy system.