Germany's new climate strategy 'too optimistic,' experts warn

The German government on Wednesday presented its climate strategy, promising to build 2,000 onshore wind turbines, as environmental experts warned the measures would not be sufficient for the country to meet its climate targets.

Germany is aiming to become climate-neutral by 2045, but calculations from the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) suggest the country's self-imposed 2030 target of reducing greenhouse gases by 65% by 2030 based on 1990 emissions levels could be missed.

After the strategy was passed in the Cabinet, Environment Minister Carsten Schneider promised a "new impetus for climate action, which will make us less reliant on expensive and unreliable oil and gas imports."

The UBA has found that Germany is only on track to cut emissions by 62.6% compared to 1990 by 2030, meaning 30 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent must still be avoided.

In its strategy, the government outlined 67 measures to save 27.1 million tons by the end of the decade.

As well as the wind turbines, which should have a capacity of 12 gigawatts and save 6.5 million tons, the policies include subsidies for electric vehicles and public transport, the expansion of district heating networks with renewable energies and transitioning from natural gas to electricity in industrial processes.

Energy expert Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) warned that the strategy's calculations were "too optimistic" and subject to "considerable uncertainty" as they focs on subsidy programmes and voluntary measures.

Simple, effective measures such as nationwide speed limits and cheaper public transport subsidies are missing, she said.

The government was legally required to present its strategy to meet climate targets within one year of the start of the new legislative period, with the deadline falling on Wednesday.

Further measures include transitions from diesel motors to electric engines in the agricultural sector, the conversion of monocultures such as pure spruce plantations into mixed forests that are better able to withstand global warming and droughts, and protection for peatlands, which are important carbon sinks.

Schneider emphasized that the government was making significant progress with the strategy. “But I’m not naive. Further progress will be necessary, but it will also be possible," he added.

The German Advisory Council on Climate Change expressed serious doubts, warning that the strategy does not meet the legal requirements.

"Subject to a more detailed review, the Advisory Council assumes that the measures taken so far are highly unlikely to be sufficient to ensure that climate targets are met," it said.

The parliamentary leader of the oppositions Greens, Katharina Dröge, called the strategy a "brazen deception."

While Schneider announces a few additional climate measures, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche is working every day to undermine climate action, Dröge said.

Under Reiche's plans, Germany is set to construct new gas-fired power stations to secure the electricity supply when renewable energies are unable to do so.