Berlin, May 8, (dpa/GNA) – The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has called on Germany to act more ambitiously in order to achieve the country’s target of becoming greenhouse gas neutral by 2045.
“In the past we were too slow when it came to climate protection. We now have to resolutely catch up on this backlog,” said German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck on Monday at the presentation of the OECD’s economic and environmental report in Berlin.
“We can only achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045 if we act in a timely and consistent manner,” said Habeck, a leading Green Party politician who has pressed the government to implement more ambitious climate policy.
The OECD appealed to the German government to accelerate its implementation of existing climate measures and to undertake new initiatives as well, especially in sectors that have not met their greenhouse gas reduction targets.
The experts see a particular need for more rapid change in the transport sector. Many have called for greater public investment in rail and local public transport in order to connect sparsely populated areas to urban centres without personal vehicles.
In the past year, the transport sector clearly missed legal targets for CO2 emission reductions. The construction sector is also one of the largest CO2 emitters in Germany.
The OECD’s economic and environmental assessments of Germany were for the first time presented jointly on Monday, which Habeck said was an indication that neither policy area can be viewed separately.
The OECD’s economic report praised Germany for its political handling of economic crises, including measures taken during the coronavirus pandemic and the energy crisis.
For this year, the OECD expects a slight increase in German gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.3% and a growth rate of 1.3% for 2024.
GNA