In May 2024, the German government weakened its climate change law by replacing binding sectoral targets with a flexible mechanism that allows sectors to compensate for each other's emissions, provided the overall national target is still met. This adjustment, however, obscures the reality that Germany's transport sector is significantly behind in implementing necessary climate actions, threatening to the country's ability to meet its climate goals. While Germany remains committed to the ambitious targets set by the Paris Agreement, the current measures are inadequate, leaving the transport sector far from its 2030 emissions reduction targets. After 2030, drastic and disruptive interventions will be needed for the sector to catch up, and compensating for these shortfalls with reductions from other sectors will no longer be viable. 

As part of a constitutional complaint filed on September 16, 2024, NewClimate Institute conducted a scenario study titled “How lack of climate action in transport burdens future generations (Wie ausbleibender Klimaschutz im Verkehr künftige Generationen belastet).  

Continued inaction in the transport sector will necessitate drastic measures—such as extremely high CO2 prices or early retirement of combustion engines—to achieve climate neutrality. The study stresses the importance of early, decisive action to ensure a smoother transition to a low-carbon transport system and to avoid severe economic and social disruptions that would otherwise arise. It also highlights the growing difficulty of relying on other sectors to make up for inaction in the transport sector, particularly as reducing the last remaining tonnes of CO2 becomes more challenging. 
 
This research project, conducted by NewClimate Institute and supported by Greenpeace and Germanwatch,  underscores the urgent need for immediate action, to prevent future generations from bearing the heavy burden of delayed climate mitigation efforts.