Speed limit and car-free Sundays
50,000 signatures were needed, 58,000 actually turned out: the federal government was presented with a petition calling for a speed limit, car-free Sundays and a ban on domestic flights.
The car is still the number one means of transport in Germany: 57 percent of journeys are made by car in the city, 70 percent in the country. This must change if climate activists have their way. The petition, which was submitted by a climate protection activist and a mobility expert, wants to achieve that cars at least emit fewer pollutants. Since the required quorum was reached, the federal government must now deal with the petition. Various measures are demanded, such as a speed limit of 100 km/h on motorways, 80 km/h outside and 30 km/h inside built-up areas. Furthermore, the ban on domestic flights, car-free Sundays and an end to the promotion of plug-in hybrids are mentioned. In addition to these goals, it also calls for the expansion of pop-up cycle paths and a three-month free monthly ticket for local transport. But the FDP has so far resisted and sees symbolic politics in the measures. All in all, the measures would save 13.4 million tonnes of fuel and 30 million tonnes of CO2. As a reminder: last year Germany produced 720 million tonnes (China: 10,670 million tonnes) of CO2.
The demands on the German government are justified not only by the climate crisis, but above all by the war in Ukraine. The measures would reduce energy dependence on Russia. In addition to reducing CO2, the demands would also have the positive effect of providing Putin with less money for his war. At the moment, the war is being co-financed by Germany because of its energy dependence. A circumstance that all parties in the Bundestag want to put an end to as soon as possible anyway. But linking already known and existing demands of the environmentalists with the war in Ukraine gives the impression that they are taking advantage of the Ukrainians' predicament in order to achieve their long-cherished goals more quickly. This impression should be avoided so that the measures also meet with broad acceptance among the population.