Well, hey, this is the kind of insanity that German voters voted for, so, they shouldn’t be surprised or resistant (via Steve Milloy)
German transport minister warns of weekend driving ban
Germany’s transport minister has warned that driving will have to be banned at the weekends unless the country’s net zero laws are changed.
Volker Wissing’s FDP party wants the law amended so the polluting transport sector can miss carbon emissions reduction targets, as long as Germany as a whole reaches them.
But the change is opposed by the Greens, who are part of the three-way coalition with the pro-business FDP and the Social Democrats (SPD), led by Olaf Scholz, the chancellor.
Negotiations over the law have dragged on since September last year. In a bid to heap pressure on his coalition partners to amend the law, Mr Wissing said that he would have to enforce a ban on weekend driving to abide by the law unless it was changed before mid-July.
So, what you have here is a horrible, restrictive, doomsday cult law which could well have Unintended consequences. But, you know the Elites, including all those elected Greens, will feel themselves to be exempt from any restrictions. Wissing should be asking how many of the Greens are driving EVs.
Julia Verlinden, the Green’s parliamentary group leader, said there were other ways to tackle pollution, including introducing a speed limit on the nation’s autobahns.
Well, good luck with that. Might be a revolt.
Greenhouse emissions in Europe’s biggest economy fell to the lowest level in 70 years in 2023, but the transport sector has been consistently failing to meet its climate targets.
According to the current climate protection law, the ministry responsible for underperforming sectors must launch an immediate programme to put them back on track.
Mr Wissing has not yet done so. His ministry claims reforming the sector is more challenging than other areas of the economy because it affects people’s everyday lives and cannot be changed quickly.
I’m all for seeing the German economy collapse and see what happens. Every experiment needs an experimental group, right? Or, better yet, force all those who voted Green to give up all their own fossil fueled travel.
Read: German Peasants Warned They Could Be Restricted From Driving On The Weekends To Meet Net Zero »