ifo researcher Pittel: Minimal compromise of the German Transport Commission disappointing

The ifo researcher Karen Pittel has described the German Transport Commission's draft report as a "disappointing but little surprising minimal compromise". The result could unfortunately have been expected given the different interests of the members. In any case, such a commission lacks the mandate to make the necessary fundamental decisions that make substantial contributions to achieving Germany's climate targets.

The head of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate and Resources in Munich continued: "The result reveals the fundamental problem of German energy and climate policy: There is a lack of an overall concept. Before responsibility for fine-tuning energy system transformation is delegated to individual commissions, a basic plan for achieving the climate and energy goals must be formulated.“

Pittel added: "This plan requires a comprehensive reform of the energy tax and contribution system. A cross-sector CO2 price also outside the European emissions trading system should be at the heart of this plan in order to set long-term incentives for reduction on a broad front. Additional measures should specifically target areas where investment incentives are still too low from a social point of view even after the energy tax reform. These measures could only supplement and not replace a comprehensive approach.

On the positive side, there is recognition of the need to invest in alternative means of transport. However, a reduction in rail ticket prices could, for example, be dispensed with if private transport were attributed its actual costs," Pittel continued. "In the absence of such measures, the financial burden could be passed on to the public budgets and thus to the taxpayer.“