Carbon Emissions

The new Berlin urban development plan - abbreviated StEP MoVe - focuses on the period up to 2030. One of Berlin's transport policy goals is to achieve a combined share of cycling, walking, and public transport of at least 82 per cent by then. At 30 per cent, walking should get the relatively largest share.

Primarily for climate protection and air pollution control, the Senate is aiming for a zero-emission zone "in the medium term". Initially in the city centre, later in the whole of Berlin, no vehicles with combustion engines are to be allowed. Günther had originally fought to achieve these goals by 2030 and 2035, respectively. However, the new urban development plan no longer mentions any dates after the red-red-green coalition had been at loggerheads over this issue.

European leaders agreed to increase the bloc's emission-reduction target to 55 percent by 203 following night-long discussions at their two-day summit in Brussels. The coal-reliant countries Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic are finally supporting the goal after member states agreed that the new target should be delivered collectively.

According to the annual greenhouse gas bulletin by the World Meteorological Organization directed to the UNO, the global average of 410 ppm carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the atmosphere has been reached for the first time in 2019 since the beginning of industrialisation in 1750.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taala stated that "The last time the Earth experienced similar CO 2 concentrations was three to five million years ago".

According to SPIEGEL information, the law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein filed a lawsuit on behalf of Porsche drivers a few days ago. Porsche has alleged sold vehicles that use more petrol on the road and emit CO2 into the air than on the test bench. In order to manipulate the values, the group allegedly installed transmission parts and software in test vehicles, which reduced emissions in the laboratory.