BERLIN, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- An alliance of environmental associations published an open letter addressed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on Tuesday in which the signatories criticized Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer's (CSU) current climate protection plan.
In view of the upcoming meeting of the German climate cabinet, the environmental associations worried that the Transport Ministry's plans would be "insufficient in terms of climate policy, are based on questionable assumptions and also place an excessive burden on the state budget."
According to Scheuer, the package of more than 50 measures would "reduce emissions by a further 55 million metric tons," which would enable Germany to achieve its climate target of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from transport from 163 million tons of CO2 to 95-98 million tons in 2030.
The measures include shifting traffic to the railways, expanding local public transport as well as introducing new driving systems and alternative fuels.
However, the alliance of environmental associations calculated that the minister´s plans would cost Germany more than 75 billion euros (82.6 billion U.S. dollar) by 2030. According to the open letter, the plans would "involve disproportionate public expenditure without, however, achieving the required reduction in greenhouse gas emissions."
Although the associations supported the "massive expansion of the infrastructure for rail and local public transport as well as for cycling and walking in cities and municipalities," it would not be clear how "further expanding highways could lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions."
The associations also want Merkel to "significantly increase" the air traffic tax, especially for domestic flights within Germany, with the goal of completely abolishing all domestic flights by 2030, as well as to get rid of the tax exemption for kerosene and international air tickets "as quickly as possible."
With regard to the discussion about a tax on carbon versus expanding the current trading system, the associations are pleading to Merkel to introduce a "CO2-oriented increase in the energy tax on fuel."
"A program of measures to achieve the climate targets for transport in 2030 must trigger a quantum leap towards a sustainable change in transport that significantly reduces the dependence of our mobility on fossil resources," the associations said.
The crucial meeting of the climate cabinet, where several measures of Germany's climate strategy are set to be decided, will take place on Sept. 20 under the chairmanship of Chancellor Merkel.
