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FOur cars with internal combustion engines are getting crowded in the capital: in winter, Berlin’s red-red-green state government declared a climate emergency. Now, Green Transport senator Regine Günther wants to create a “zero emission zone”: cars with internal combustion engines should no longer be allowed to enter the city center soon.
The Berlin coalition partners are arguing over what “soon” means, and the decision was postponed on Tuesday. Pedestrians, cyclists, and bus and train users should have it better than drivers. Therefore, a city toll for cars of 5 to 8 euros is being considered.
Berlin’s state policy not only fights for the climate and clean air, the issue is also high on the agenda of the European Union. It cannot be ruled out that the EU Commission will also tighten the limits of the CO2 fleet by 2030 once again in the course of its more ambitious climate requirements.
Others want to save it
But while some fight the car, others want to save it. Sometimes it is even the same thing that FDP MP Michael Theurer criticizes: “The federal government cannot regulate the auto industry to the death on the one hand and keep it alive with taxpayer money on the other. The hand that holds the microphone in Berlin while German ministers complain about the threat of job losses was also the hand that was raised in Brussels when the drastic wrong regulation was decided. “
In the federal government, concerns currently predominate about Germany’s leading industry, about manufacturers and suppliers that still employ a good 830,000 people. On Tuesday evening, industry representatives had an appointment with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and several federal ministers for a video conference, for the virtual car summit.
It should really be about artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and the use of mobility data. But even before the phone call, everything was covered by the new bailout debate.
“Stepping up again doesn’t make sense”
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) assumed the role of spokesperson for countries with major production plants and again demanded a purchase voucher for vehicles with combustion engines, a grant that coalition partners did not want to get in the economic stimulus package in early June. Although Söder again chipped granite at Merkel and the SPD, she reiterated her demand.
On the morning of the summit, the CSU Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer jumped in beside him. “There are many modern vehicles in the dump. They have to come from the farm, ”he said.
In the auto industry, the expectation for new bonuses before the meeting was low, but high for new incentives. The president of the employers’ association Südwestmetall and the chairman of the board of the supplier ElringKlinger, Stefan Wolf, said on Tuesday on the radio station “rbb” that the government had made a different decision on the combustion engine bonus. “It doesn’t make sense to do the same now.”
There are other ways to help small and medium businesses. “We have the highest labor costs of all time and here relief is the order of the day,” Wolf said. However, Wolf rejected a medium-sized fund like the one proposed by SPD, Greens, and IG Metall. BDI CEO Joachim Lang also called for a “strong signal from the government in support of key industries.” One euro of value added in the automotive industry is followed by one euro of suppliers and another euro of value added in all economic sectors. “In the future, too, low-emission combustion engines with CO2-neutral fuels will play a central role. Market-based and technology openness drives are needed to allow all climate-friendly technologies to develop. “
