Eleven measures to achieve 2030 climate target

The study “Using market forces for climate protection: Reform impetus for more climate protection in public finances,” proposes eleven measures which, according to the client, pursue three objectives:

• Correcting existing misplaced incentives. Because the German tax system still comprises massive climate-damaging incentives, tax exemptions, and indirect subsidies.
• Strengthening the central instrument of market-based climate protection: The CO₂ price.
• Introducing new tools for getting started with transformation. Substantial changes in infrastructure, production, and behaviour are necessary. This requires massive investment and completely new approaches in terms of policy.

The eleven measures proposed by the client will be examined with regard to their climate protection impact, their revenue potential, and their distributional effect.

Our mission

Germany is in danger of failing to meet its 2030 climate targets. The “traffic light” coalition must therefore get many additional measures off the ground during this parliamentary term. The Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft has published an impulse paper in which it proposes eleven market-based measures. We have modelled the climate protection impact of five of the eleven measures and documented the estimates (see study, Annex 1).

Our approach

We have provided the figures for the following measures and estimated how much they reduce CO₂ emissions in each case:

• Abolition of the diesel privilege (energy tax)
• Company car taxation reform
• Alignment of fuel tax rates (energy tax)
• Increase in the CO₂ price in the German Fuel Emissions Trading Act
• Vehicle registration and tax

Core results

Overall, on the way to the 2030 targets the eleven proposed measures can save more than 25 million tonnes of CO₂ per year and have a revenue potential of more than EUR 50 billion.

Links and downloads

To the study (Website foes.de, in German)

Project team: Dr Andreas Kemmler, Alex Auf der Maur, Tim Trachsel, Paurnima Kulkarni

Latest update: 28.10.2022