According to foreign media reports, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) said that if Germany wants to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality in road traffic by 2045, it must exceed the emission reduction targets set by the European Union.
The VDA said in a statement on August 21 that the targets set by the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), adopted at the end of last year, are not high enough. The association’s president, Hildegard Mueller, “called on politicians to create incentives for the accelerated development of renewable energies and thus safeguard and promote investments.”
The German automotive industry wants to ensure that there is an adequate supply of carbon-neutral fuels such as biofuels and synthetic fuels, because even if the German government achieves its goal of 15 million electric vehicles by 2030, there will still be 40 million internal combustion engine vehicles on the road by then.
The Association of the German Automotive Industry is concerned that the 2030 carbon neutrality target fails to provide enough incentive for the fossil oil industry to invest in the production of climate-friendly fuels.
The EU’s goal is to reach a renewable energy share of at least 29 percent by 2030, or a 14.5 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil fuels.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has already decided to increase its emissions reduction target to 25 percent, but the Association of the German Automotive Industry believes 35 percent is necessary.
The EU has also set a target of 5.5% for biofuels and synthetic fuels, with synthetic fuels accounting for at least 1%. In response, the German Automotive Industry Association (DAA) called for a synthetic fuel share of at least 5 percent.
The German Automotive Industry Association also said that further mid-term targets should be set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2035, 90 percent in 2040 and 100 percent by 2045. The association added: “For the sake of climate protection, German gas stations should no longer be allowed to sell fossil fuels from 2045.”