Germany wants to meet climate targets, including with 2000 wind turbines

Berlin, March 25 (CTK correspondent) - Germany wants to meet its climate targets for 2030 by building 2000 new wind turbines, expanding the area of mixed forests and providing greater support for electromobility. Environment Minister Carsten Schneider announced this at a press conference today, presenting a plan containing a total of 67 measures. Germany has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2030 compared with 1990.

The German government approved the new climate programme at its meeting today. According to calculations by non-governmental organisations, Germany risks missing its own climate target. In addition to its 2030 target, it also has a 2045 target, by which the largest economy in Europe aims to become carbon-neutral. The government was required by law to present the programme within a year of the start of its term, with today as the latest deadline.

In addition to building around 2000 onshore wind turbines with a capacity of 12 gigawatts, the German government also wants to support the expansion of mixed forests at the expense of monocultures, as they are more resilient to climate change. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's cabinet also wants to support electromobility, including the sale of electric cars and the construction of charging stations. According to Minister Schneider, the government will allocate eight billion euros (CZK 195.5 billion) to the planned measures. The aim is to save 27.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by the end of this decade.

"This programme will give climate protection new momentum and help us become less dependent on costly and uncertain supplies of oil and gas," Minister Schneider said.

"We will modernise the economy, make society more resilient to crises and help nature so that it can help us," he added.

Critics say the government is too optimistic in its programme about meeting climate targets. Among other things, they say it relies on outdated data and fails to address the far-reaching consequences of the energy crisis linked to the fallout from the current war in the Middle East. "I'm not naive. Further progress will be necessary, but it is also possible," Minister Schneider responded to the criticism.

Environmental organisation Greenpeace is also among the programme's critics. Early this morning, six of its members climbed onto a construction crane near the German chancellery in central Berlin. They descended on ropes and unfurled a banner reading "Freedom instead of fossil-fuel policies." "With this climate programme, the government is relying more on hope than certainty," said Greenpeace representative Martin Kaiser. He said significantly stricter measures were needed, particularly in transport. One such measure should be introducing a maximum speed limit on motorways.