There is a five-million gap in electric cars by 2030

At least 15 million fully electric cars by 2030 – that is the goal of the new federal government. But that’s not enough, according to a new study.

Berlin – with the traffic light coalition’s target of 15 million electric cars by 2030, the climate target for transport will be missed, according to a study. There is a gap of five million electric cars, according to an analysis by the wuppertal Institute commissioned by the environmental organization greenpeace.

The drive turnaround must be accelerated. Further measures are needed – such as a ban on new registrations of cars with gasoline and diesel engines as early as 2025, and a vehicle tax reform.

The study says that in 2020, traffic will account for about 146 million metric tons, or nearly 20 percent of all CO2 emissions in germany. "the need for action in the transport sector is all the more urgent because politicians have not yet succeeded in permanently reducing CO2 emissions in the transport sector."

Relevant adjusting screw

Greenpeace transport expert tobias austrup wrote in a foreword to the study that the drive system shift is not the only factor in climate protection in transport, but it is nevertheless a very relevant one. "it promises faster significant emission reductions than the mobility turnaround, i.e. the avoidance and shifting of trips by car to climate-friendly alternatives such as public transport or the bicycle." car traffic is responsible for the majority of traffic emissions, accounting for almost two-thirds of them.

If, as assumed in many scenarios, the share of CO2 emissions from cars in total emissions from road traffic remains roughly constant in the future, the picture would be as follows: the Climate Protection Act specifies a sector target of no more than 85 million metric tons of CO2 in transport in 2030 – this would correspond to a reduction of around 48 percent compared to 1990. Emissions from car traffic would have to be reduced to around 52 million by 2030.

Further measures needed

However, with 15 million battery electric cars, passenger car traffic would still cause more than 64 million tons of CO2 in 2030. "in order to ensure that emissions from passenger car traffic do not exceed 52 million metric tons per year, at least 20 million e-cars must be registered in germany in 2030." according to data from the german federal motor transport authority, there are currently around 650.000 pure e-cars on german roads, out of a stock of more than 48 million passenger cars.

Austrup wrote that further measures are needed to accelerate the drive turnaround. Among the most effective: the introduction of a new registration tax for CO2-intensive cars, a higher CO2 price, a comprehensive reform of company car taxation – and a ban on new registrations of cars with gasoline and diesel engines as early as 2025.

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