Members of the “Berlin 2030 Climate Neutral” alliance react to the failure of the “Berlin 2030 Climate Neutral” referendum.Image: dpa / Christophe Gateau
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Berlin should become climate-neutral by 2030, at least if the “Berlin 2030 Climate-Neutral” initiative had its way – but a corresponding referendum failed. The required minimum number of yes votes was missing. For the time being, Berliners are not setting themselves any ambitious climate goals. For some it is a shock, for others it apparently arouses glee.
The “climate restart” alliance wanted to use the vote to change the state energy transition law. Specifically, Berlin should commit itself to becoming climate neutral by 2030 and not by 2045 as previously planned. But Berlin voted against this proposal – or did not vote at all. Apparently incomprehensible for the meteorologist and journalist Özden Terli.
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Climate protectors and scientists are disappointed
Terli lets his frustration run wild on Twitter. “Anyone who voted ‘no’ agreed ‘yes’ to extreme weather of any kind. Please don’t complain if it gets bad,” he writes. He posted a graphic with the words “Congratulations on the climate catastrophe” to show how bad it could get.
Natural scientist and climate protector Sebastian Seiffert is apparently disappointed with the failed referendum. Above all, he thinks of his children. “Evenings like today hurt,” he writes on Twitter. Again, as a father, he had to realize that it was simply not possible to achieve large majorities for the future of his children. In the future he will work even harder to protect the climate.
According to the election management, a narrow majority of around 442,000 voters (50.9 percent) voted in favor. Around 423,000 voters voted against it (48.7 percent). However, this was only one requirement for a successful referendum. The second requirement, an approval rate (quorum) of at least 25 percent of all eligible voters, was not met. That would have been about 608,000 yes votes. 35.8 percent of the approximately 2.4 million eligible voters took part in the referendum.
For the climate protection expert Volker Quaschning, this procedure is probably a mystery. “But the result doesn’t count because of the low turnout, because voting was specially scheduled for a special date,” he writes on Twitter. He wonders why the Politics so afraid of more climate protection.
Failed referendum is “disenchantment galore”
The journalist Anna Schneider, on the other hand, emphasizes on Twitter that the failed referendum shows “how little the eco-capital journalist-moralist bubble has to do with the majority of the population”. For them it is a “disenchantment galore” – in other words, in abundance. Berlin will probably not save the world after all, she writes. She feared that.
An announcement that the management consultant and former managing director of the WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature) apparently could not let stand. He writes on Twitter: “The fact that people celebrate having helped prevent climate neutrality and believe that they themselves will not be affected by the climate crisis must be somehow pathological.”
Climate neutrality means that no greenhouse gases are emitted that exceed those that are absorbed by nature, for example. To achieve this, emissions that are harmful to the climate, for example from combustion cars, airplanes, heating systems, power plants or industrial companies, would have to be reduced by around 95 percent compared to 1990.
Johannes Winkel, federal chairman of the Junge Union, is obviously relieved about the outcome of the referendum.
Tired of such “childish and populist nonsense”
Winkel finds it “strong” that the referendum not only missed the quorum by miles, “but that almost half of the voters expressly voted no,” he writes on Twitter. In his opinion, people are simply tired of “such childish and populist nonsense”.
The capital would not have been alone with a stricter climate target. According to the German Zero association, around 70 cities in Germany are aiming to become climate-neutral by 2035 at the latest. At the European level, the EU Commission is supporting 100 municipalities that will take part in the “EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities” by 2030.
After the failure of the Berlin referendum for more ambitious climate goals, the initiators of the vote and other climate protectors do not want to back down. “It’s a shame for everyone in Berlin. Of course we’re going to continue, we’re going to keep fighting,” says Jessamine Davis, spokeswoman for the “Climate Reset” alliance.
After all, Germany wants to become climate-neutral by 2045. The EU wants to be there by 2050.
(With material from the dpa)
