Noteworthy. (2016). Solutions 7(6): 6-9.
Idea Lab Noteworthy Germany Goes Electric: All Cars Must be Emissions-free by 2030 by Devin Windelspecht
Germany’s ambitions aren’t small when it comes to combating the threat of climate change. By 2050, the European country hopes to cut up to 95 percent of its current CO2 emissions, and to do so it has decided on a bold new plan: to ensure that all newly made cars are emissions-free by the year 2030. This decision follows on the heels of a recent cash-incentive program, announced in April of this year, to
put more electric and hybrid cars onto German roads. The program, financed by a €600 million investment by the federal government, will give car buyers €4,000 when they choose to buy a purely electric vehicle and €3,000 when purchasing a plug-in hybrid. Germany also plans to invest €100 million into replacing its government fleet with electric cars, and a final €300 million towards improving the infrastructure and availability of electric-car recharging stations. According to Germany’s Environmental Industry, this plan will help to put up to 500,000 more
electric cars on the road by 2020— a year that also serves as Germany’s self-imposed deadline for cutting the nation’s emissions by 40 percent. So far, German car manufacturers Volkswagen, Daimler, and BMW have signed on to the plan, which remains open to all foreign and national car brands. Germany has already proven itself to be a world leader in battling climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with renewable energy sources accounting for a third of the country’s electricity consumption last year. Yet while the reduction of emissions from electric power has
Michael Movchin
Electric car charging. 6 | Solutions | November-December 2016 | www.thesolutionsjournal.org